Lichfield company Lorien Engineering Solutions is opening a base in Poland to serve central European markets.

The company, a former monthly winner of The Birmingham Post Enterprise Award, provides engineering and project management services to industries, including food, brewing, drinks and pharmaceutical and life sciences.

Managing director Steve Slater said the new Polish office showed that Lorien was continuing to expand into new markets despite the global downturn. He said: “We are in the enviable position of being able to support successful major international companies, including brand leaders in food, brewing, drinks and health care products, who are at the forefront in developing highly-efficient production centres and manufacturing innovations.

“Over the past year we’ve seen our international operations rocket to 40 per cent of our order book from less than five per cent in 2006/7.

“We fully expect this trend to continue with demand for our services growing from our established customer base where we enjoy an 85 per cent repeat business rate.”

The new branch office – Lorien Engineering Polska – will be based in the historic city of Wroclaw in the south-west of Poland. From there the firm will be strongly positioned to develop its existing presence in the country’s food, brewing and health care sectors, and the office will act as a European hub for the firm’s many international clients who have a growing presence in the region.

Andrew Mieleniewski, who will be leading the Polish venture, said: “This is a real milestone for the company, and one which I’m confident will be a success. We have established a wealth of experience working on projects in Poland and many central and eastern European countries, so we already have a very strong foundation to build on. We are all very excited about establishing a permanent base in Poland.”

Christopher Sawyer, chairman of CSG (Holdings), which owns Lorien, said: “It is particularly encouraging that we are in this position given the current economic climate.”