Would you say you have a talent for languages and are always looking for a challenge? Here is an easy one for you - just try to pronounce some very basic Polish vocabulary and I bet you´ll get tongue-tied pretty quickly! I certainly did: Serdecznie witamy. Dziękuję. Przepraszam. Smacznego.

I’m guessing you tried several times and finally managed to pronounce something that sounds almost right? Congratulations! But don´t celebrate too early. All you managed to say was welcome, thanks, sorry and bon appetite. Which is a start – but it won’t get you very far. Polish is one of the most difficult languages in Europe. Not only is the pronunciation extremely challenging, but so too is the grammar. There are no articles, seven different cases and almost every ending is declined or conjugated.

But why the concern for the Polish language? Well, several months ago I became a member of an integration team to support one of the latest FedEx acquisitions in Europe. This involved around 1,200 employees of the Polish shipping company Opek Sp. z.o.o. becoming part of the global FedEx family.

Poland is one of the most robust economies in Central Europe and it was the only country in the European Union to avoid a recession through 2008 and 2009. In 2009, it even had the highest EU GDP growth. Poland’s future also looks bright for businesses and the country’s economic vitality. International business centers are taking off and agriculture, services and the manufacturing industry are all booming. These are all very good reasons to expand our presence in Poland and welcome the Opek team to the FedEx world!

Opek was founded in 1994 and has built a well-established network which covers the entire country. The company operates an automated hub in Lomianki, near Warsaw, and additional hubs in Lodz and Katowice. In total, it runs 44 stations throughout Poland. With the acquisition we´ll now leverage the strengths of our two companies and pool our talents to become an even greater force in Poland and internationally. As part of the integration team I can tell you that we´re all thrilled about working with our new colleagues:  Serdecznie witamy and it´s great to have you on board!