"We are viewing this expansion as a long-term strategy for business expansion in Eastern Europe," said the label manufacturer's managing director Ian Wright (pictured). "We are going to pursue sites in Russia and perhaps other locations as well."

The Polish facility will produce work for direct-sell cosmetics firm Avon, which also has a manufacturing facility in Poland. Harlands expects there to be a "two-way flow" of work from the UK and Poland.

"We aim to be producing 75% of our work for Avon in Poland by Q1 2007," said Wright, who will head up the new plant with his UK operations director Raymond Young and a Polish production manager Miroslaw Smagiel.

Part of the Clondalkin Group, Harlands' 2,000sqm facility has taken space in sister firm Boxes Prestige's existing factory in Lublin, south-east of Warsaw.

The project is at "stage one" at the moment and Wright expects it to be in full production by mid-October, employing 20 staff by the end of the year.

The site will house three Dutch-built MPS 330mm narrow web screen/flexo combination presses, the first of which will be installed on the 1 October. The servo-driven nine-colour and foiling machines will run alongside a raft of label finishing kit.