Partners Group and Peakside Complete City Point Okęcie for Welcome Airport Services

Partners Group, acting on behalf of its clients, together with Peakside Capital Advisors, has completed City Point Okęcie, an 11,000 square metre build-to-suit logistics facility located next to Warsaw Chopin Airport. The building has been handed over to its tenant, Welcome Airport Services, which will operate it as a new international cargo terminal.

City Point Okęcie is part of a broader urban logistics portfolio jointly held by Partners Group and Peakside, which also includes City Point Targówek, Logistics Point Raszyn and Logistics Point Piaseczno. Together, the projects form a logistics platform serving Warsaw and its surroundings.

The new facility combines warehouse and office space designed to meet the operational requirements of Welcome Airport Services. Sustainability features include heat pumps for heating and cooling, a rooftop photovoltaic installation with a capacity of 450 kWp, and rainwater collection systems. Water-saving devices are expected to reduce potable water use by up to 65 percent. The façade was constructed with sandwich panels designed to lower carbon emissions. The building was planned with reference to BREEAM, LEED and EU Taxonomy standards.

Welcome Airport Services, which provides ground handling and cargo services in Poland, will use the facility as a base for its expanding cargo operations.

The project was delivered with Depenbrock Polska as general contractor, ONE Architekci as design partner, City Corsite as development advisor, 2MPM for supervision and scheduling, and MidoriPro as sustainability advisor. Financing was provided by mBank.

City Point Okęcie is the fourth development completed under the Partners Group–Peakside joint venture, which focuses on developing and managing logistics facilities in strategic locations across Poland.

Logistics gears up for peak season: CEVA outlines pain points and playbooks

With Black Friday through Christmas set to compress months of demand into a few frenetic weeks, logistics providers say the 2025 peak season will hinge on tighter forecasting, flexible labor, and real-time transport visibility. CEVA Logistics, a global 3PL serving retail and e-commerce, points to four pressure points—demand volatility, labor shortages, transport complexity, and disruption risk—and to a stack of AI-enabled and operational responses it says are now industry standard.

The backdrop is still expansionary. Global retail sales were about $28.9 trillion in 2023 and are projected to reach roughly $31.3 trillion in 2025, while global e-commerce is tracking around $6.0–6.1 trillion in 2024 with further growth into 2025.

Forecasting demand remains the first hurdle. CEVA highlights the shift from purely historical models to “outside-in” tools that ingest live signals—weather, events, macro and network data—to adjust inventory and staffing before orders spike. Supply-chain expert David Shillingford notes that the demand side is often the greater unknown during events like Black Friday, reinforcing the value of timely external data over rear-view analytics.

Labor is the second constraint. A 2024 Descartes study found 76% of supply-chain and logistics leaders experiencing workforce shortages, prompting operators to blend automation with more flexible rosters. CEVA has deployed Boston Dynamics’ Stretch robots in Los Angeles transload operations to accelerate unloading and improve safety, an example of targeted automation that scales during peaks.

Transport optimization is the third pillar. Providers are widening use of AI-driven route planning and operational-research algorithms that fold in live traffic and restrictions to cut delays and fuel burn, alongside control-tower visibility across modes for proactive exception handling. Cross-border flows add complexity but remain essential to growth; CEVA frames cross-border e-commerce as a strategic lever rather than a risk to be avoided.

The fourth issue is resilience to shocks—from storms to geopolitical detours—that can derail even well-planned peaks. Operators are leaning on improved meteorological tools, multi-supplier sourcing, buffer stocks where feasible, and continuous tracking to trigger rerouting or mode shifts in hours, not days.

Sustainability is increasingly embedded in peak-season design rather than treated as an afterthought. Consumers are more receptive to greener options, and operators are responding with packaging that is reusable, recyclable or biodegradable, route optimization, and pilots with electric delivery where network design allows. The sustainability lens now extends to returns, with streamlined reverse logistics to cut waste and recover value.

Bottom line: Heading into the 2025 peaks, CEVA and peers are betting on earlier signal capture for demand, automation to offset labor gaps, AI-assisted routing for delivery reliability, and resilience measures to keep networks moving when conditions turn. The growth in retail and e-commerce is real, but so are the constraints—making execution speed and data-driven decisions the decisive advantage this season.

Wassa Moves Operations to Logicor Příšovice

Packaging and logistics specialist Wassa has relocated from Liberec to Logicor Příšovice, where it has leased the entire Building A. The lease covers 9,800 square metres of warehouse space, 370 square metres of offices, 1,500 square metres of covered loading area, and parking for both trucks and cars. With this transaction, only 5,000 square metres remain available at the park.

Wassa operates across roughly 50,000 square metres of leased and owned space in the Czech Republic, serving a variety of sectors including the automotive industry. The company’s move to Příšovice provides additional facilities for its packaging systems and logistics services, with the new site offering side-loading infrastructure and multimodal transport options.

Logicor Příšovice is the company’s first logistics park outside Prague and has been developed on a former brownfield site. It spans 20,500 square metres in two buildings and is designed for warehousing, production, and office operations. Located near the D10 motorway, the site provides direct connections to Prague, Mladá Boleslav, and Liberec, and includes its own railway siding for freight handling.

Logicor’s Czech portfolio now totals more than 100,000 square metres of completed industrial and logistics properties, with additional land earmarked for future development in Prague, Plzeň, and Příšovice.

From Drones to 3D Concrete: HSF Pushes Digital Construction

HSF System, part of the PURPOSIA Group, argues that digital tools—drones, total stations, BIM-driven workflows and 3D concrete printing—are no longer a promise but standard kit on its Czech and Slovak jobs. The company has moved most project controls into digital environments, extended that to tendering and subcontractor onboarding, and now leans on UAV surveys, thermal inspections and precise set-out to compress schedules and avoid costly rework. That broad direction tracks with the Czech market’s push on BIM and digitization, but it also mirrors what’s happening in Europe’s most advanced construction economies. Germany’s federal BIM centre (BIM Deutschland) sits inside two ministries and underpins nationwide digital uptake on public works—evidence that “digital by default” is policy, not just a contractor slogan.

HSF’s heaviest bet is on concrete printing. Through a partnership linking HSF System with ICE Industrial Services (MTX Group), the spin-off Coral Construction Technologies is commercializing a Czech-patented printhead and process geared to use standard ready-mix rather than the dry mixes common in early-stage 3DCP—an engineering choice aimed at scalability on real sites. ICE is already printing the upper station of a cable-car project in Kopřivná, combining hall-made prefab with on-site printing, which shows the technology moving beyond “demo benches” toward complex, occupiable structures.

If the question is whether the world outside Czechia is going the same way, the Netherlands remains the benchmark for 3D-printed concrete in Europe. The first 3D-printed concrete bicycle bridge opened in Gemert in 2017 (TUE/BAM/Witteveen+Bos), and Dutch teams have since delivered larger printed spans and even fully printed dwellings under Project Milestone—proof that permitting and engineering cultures can absorb the method at scale.

On drones, HSF’s claims about time and cost gains are consistent with what transport and infrastructure agencies are formalizing elsewhere. In the United States, federal rules under FAA Part 107 now allow routine operations over people, moving vehicles and at night (with conditions), which is why contractors widely use UAVs for stockpiles, façade/roof thermography, and progress checks. The U.S. highway authority has even issued guidance on using small UAS for earthworks quantity estimation—codifying photogrammetry-to-BIM workflows that mirror HSF’s drone-to-Revit terrain models.

Thermal-camera inspections that HSF runs on roofs and façades are also a maturing market rather than a novelty. Industry analyses point to rapid growth in drone-based thermal inspection because it cuts man-hours and scaffolding costs while catching heat-loss and moisture problems earlier; case studies show thermal anomalies like bridges and air-leaks being detected reliably enough to plan remedial works before defects become visible.

Germany and the Netherlands aren’t outliers in digitization, either. Analysts repeatedly note that European mandates and client demands are pushing BIM deeper into private work, with Germany explicitly tying digitization to equipment and remote-monitoring adoption in its construction sector. That macro environment helps explain why a mid-sized regional contractor like HSF can insist on digital tendering and still bring subcontractors along.

Where HSF’s narrative holds up—and what to watch. Independent signals back the idea that drones, BIM and 3DCP are past the pilot stage in leading markets, and ICE/Coral’s live cable-car station is a concrete (literally) Czech example. The bolder claim is that the “old world” is ending quickly. In practice, adoption tends to be uneven: regulation and client capacity drive leaders ahead, while permitting, workforce training and supply-chain readiness can slow everyone else. For 3DCP, the frontier questions remain code acceptance, durability data and cost parity outside showpiece projects; Coral’s patented printhead and use of transport concrete could matter here if it lowers materials friction and speeds approvals.

Bottom line: HSF System is moving in lockstep with Europe’s digitization curve and, through Coral/ICE, is helping push Czech 3D printing from lab to live projects. The global picture supports their thesis: drones, data and automated concrete printing are no longer curiosities. The gap to watch is execution at scale—whether the savings and quality gains HSF cites on selected projects consistently survive the realities of codes, weather, labor and supply chains across an entire portfolio.

From Drones to 3D Concrete: HSF Pushes Digital Construction

HSF System, part of the PURPOSIA Group, argues that digital tools—drones, total stations, BIM-driven workflows and 3D concrete printing—are no longer a promise but standard kit on its Czech and Slovak jobs. The company has moved most project controls into digital environments, extended that to tendering and subcontractor onboarding, and now leans on UAV surveys, thermal inspections and precise set-out to compress schedules and avoid costly rework. That broad direction tracks with the Czech market’s push on BIM and digitization, but it also mirrors what’s happening in Europe’s most advanced construction economies. Germany’s federal BIM centre (BIM Deutschland) sits inside two ministries and underpins nationwide digital uptake on public works—evidence that “digital by default” is policy, not just a contractor slogan.

HSF’s heaviest bet is on concrete printing. Through a partnership linking HSF System with ICE Industrial Services (MTX Group), the spin-off Coral Construction Technologies is commercializing a Czech-patented printhead and process geared to use standard ready-mix rather than the dry mixes common in early-stage 3DCP—an engineering choice aimed at scalability on real sites. ICE is already printing the upper station of a cable-car project in Kopřivná, combining hall-made prefab with on-site printing, which shows the technology moving beyond “demo benches” toward complex, occupiable structures.

If the question is whether the world outside Czechia is going the same way, the Netherlands remains the benchmark for 3D-printed concrete in Europe. The first 3D-printed concrete bicycle bridge opened in Gemert in 2017 (TUE/BAM/Witteveen+Bos), and Dutch teams have since delivered larger printed spans and even fully printed dwellings under Project Milestone—proof that permitting and engineering cultures can absorb the method at scale.

On drones, HSF’s claims about time and cost gains are consistent with what transport and infrastructure agencies are formalizing elsewhere. In the United States, federal rules under FAA Part 107 now allow routine operations over people, moving vehicles and at night (with conditions), which is why contractors widely use UAVs for stockpiles, façade/roof thermography, and progress checks. The U.S. highway authority has even issued guidance on using small UAS for earthworks quantity estimation—codifying photogrammetry-to-BIM workflows that mirror HSF’s drone-to-Revit terrain models.

Thermal-camera inspections that HSF runs on roofs and façades are also a maturing market rather than a novelty. Industry analyses point to rapid growth in drone-based thermal inspection because it cuts man-hours and scaffolding costs while catching heat-loss and moisture problems earlier; case studies show thermal anomalies like bridges and air-leaks being detected reliably enough to plan remedial works before defects become visible.

Germany and the Netherlands aren’t outliers in digitization, either. Analysts repeatedly note that European mandates and client demands are pushing BIM deeper into private work, with Germany explicitly tying digitization to equipment and remote-monitoring adoption in its construction sector. That macro environment helps explain why a mid-sized regional contractor like HSF can insist on digital tendering and still bring subcontractors along.

Where HSF’s narrative holds up—and what to watch. Independent signals back the idea that drones, BIM and 3DCP are past the pilot stage in leading markets, and ICE/Coral’s live cable-car station is a concrete (literally) Czech example. The bolder claim is that the “old world” is ending quickly. In practice, adoption tends to be uneven: regulation and client capacity drive leaders ahead, while permitting, workforce training and supply-chain readiness can slow everyone else. For 3DCP, the frontier questions remain code acceptance, durability data and cost parity outside showpiece projects; Coral’s patented printhead and use of transport concrete could matter here if it lowers materials friction and speeds approvals.

Bottom line: HSF System is moving in lockstep with Europe’s digitization curve and, through Coral/ICE, is helping push Czech 3D printing from lab to live projects. The global picture supports their thesis: drones, data and automated concrete printing are no longer curiosities. The gap to watch is execution at scale—whether the savings and quality gains HSF cites on selected projects consistently survive the realities of codes, weather, labor and supply chains across an entire portfolio.

Mitzilinka – Warsaw’s Domestic Violence Support System: Now With More Red Tape Than Protection

Warsaw’s social welfare system is under fire after a father reported that trying to get help at Mokotów’s Centre for Counteracting Domestic Violence felt less like an emergency service and more like lining up for a badly organized comedy show-except no one was laughing.

According to the father, after bringing his daughter in following an assault by her mother, the assigned specialist told them to “come back tomorrow” because, apparently, protecting children has office hours. If domestic violence doesn’t respect business hours, that’s your fault, not the bureaucracy’s.

The next day, the daughter bravely detailed years of abuse. The specialist responded by requesting a full written account, kindly offering his email. Unfortunately, the email bounced back-possibly because even Outlook decided it couldn’t handle the workload. Further attempts to reach the centre went unanswered, as though the inbox had been placed under protective custody.

Ten days later, the family returned, only to learn that the caseworker was on a two-week holiday and, naturally, nobody was checking his emails in his absence. Because in Warsaw, nothing says “crisis management” like an out-of-office reply. The daughter meanwhile was terrified to return home and even thought about running away. Luckily, her father secured alternative housing. Not every victim, of course, has the luxury of a spare apartment and, apparently, an endless supply of patience.

OPS Mokotów proudly states on its website that its mission is to “respond to violence.” To be fair, they do respond. It’s just that their response usually involves a calendar reminder and an incorrect email address. With 332 official contact points in Warsaw, one might expect at least one to be useful, but the father claims none could provide effective assistance. Statistically, that’s impressive inefficiency.

The law defines domestic violence as physical, psychological, or economic harm that violates dignity and safety. But judging from this case, the system appears to have added a new category: administrative abuse, inflicted via bounced emails and unanswered phones.

While Poland’s government insists OPS centres are designed to protect victims, this episode suggests the only thing being protected is vacation schedules. The father summed it up best: OPS should stand for Office of Paperwork and Shrugs. Or, in his own words, “a start-up running on trial and error-while victims’ safety is at stake.”

Author: Mitzilinka (Turning grim reality into comic relief-without losing the truth)

Mitzilinka – Warsaw Roadworks: Where GPS Goes to Die

Warsaw has officially claimed its place as one of Europe’s great theme parks, except the rides are all traffic jams and the entry fee is your sanity. According to INRIX data, drivers in the Polish capital spent an average of 70 hours staring at the bumper in front of them in 2024, making Warsaw the sixth most congested city in Europe and the 20th worldwide. That’s nearly three full days a year spent practicing deep breathing and wondering why you didn’t just take up cycling.

The situation gets even more entertaining around construction sites. Here, detours are less “planned” and more “choose your own adventure.” One minute you’re in the correct lane, the next you’re funneled into a mysterious side street that your GPS swears doesn’t exist. Signage often looks like it was drawn by an abstract artist, and traffic marshals, when they appear at all, seem as confused as the drivers they’re supposed to guide.

Służewiec, the business district nicknamed “Mordor” by long-suffering commuters, is leading the charge in testing human patience. Nearly 100,000 workers pour in daily, jamming streets designed back when owning a horse was more common than owning a hatchback. Parking is scarcer than an honest politician, and the new road layouts seem to change more often than the weather.

Meanwhile, Warsaw is trying to fix things. A shiny new bike path is rising on Solidarności, complete with crossings and greenery that drivers can admire while stuck at a standstill. The Wilanów tram extension is open, but the associated road and drainage works still look like they’ve been designed as a long-term psychological experiment. And with 2025 and 2026 set to be peak years for construction, contractors and supply chains are already sweating harder than drivers with broken air conditioning.

The goal, officials insist, is a modern, mobile, stress-free Warsaw. The current reality? Gridlock, endless U-turns, and road users wondering if their great-grandchildren will finally enjoy the benefits of today’s chaos. Until then, Warsaw drivers might want to pack a snack, a podcast, and perhaps a tent for their next “short drive” across the city.

Author: Mitzilinka (Turning grim reality into comic relief-without losing the truth)

Mitzilinka – LOT Short-Haul Business Class: Champagne Dreams, Apple Juice Reality

LOT Polish Airlines’ short-haul business class continues to be the aviation equivalent of buying a ticket to a Michelin restaurant and then discovering it’s a very polite cafeteria with yogurt on the menu. Yes, there are some nice touches, but the overall package leaves passengers wondering if “business” is just a branding exercise rather than an actual upgrade.

On Embraer routes like Warsaw to Bucharest, Prague, or Vilnius, business class is essentially economy class with the middle seat blocked. It’s the airborne version of someone politely saying, “Don’t worry, I won’t sit next to you.” Comfort is marginally improved, but the beige upholstery has seen better decades, and the cabin still looks like it’s been hosting family reunions since the 1990s.

Pre-departure service is where optimism meets reality. Expect apple juice or water if you’re lucky, and if you’re really lucky, both at the same time. Champagne? Only if you smuggle it onboard yourself. Ask about the contents of the wet wipes and you might be told they’re alcohol-based, bleach-based, or powered by sheer mystery. Follow-up questions are usually met with the kind of stressed facial expressions you’d expect from someone trying to assemble IKEA furniture without instructions.

The catering, however, occasionally redeems the experience. A fig-and-cheese hors d’oeuvre here, a fish entrée there—every so often you’re reminded that you did, in fact, buy a business class ticket. Pair it with a glass of wine and for a fleeting moment you could almost believe you’re on Lufthansa. Almost.

Cabin cleanliness is… variable. Washrooms are usually tidy, but the cabin itself shows heavy use. Think “student rental apartment that someone tried to tidy five minutes before a landlord visit.” Snacks like sweet chili pistachios with tea have been noted, though some meals look so weary they could use a nap themselves.

Then comes ground handling. Business-class passengers are promised priority baggage and faster boarding. In practice, your bag might come out first, or it might come out halfway through, depending on whether the baggage handlers had coffee that morning. Boarding priority is often more theoretical than real, and at Warsaw Chopin, business passengers frequently find themselves squeezed onto buses alongside everyone else, clutching carry-ons like contestants in a game show called Who Gets the Overhead Space?

In fairness, LOT keeps fares competitive, and when the catering team is on form, the food is genuinely impressive for a short flight. Lounge access and a blocked seat add some value, especially on busy routes. But it’s clear that this isn’t a premium product—it’s economy with a garnish.

In the end, LOT’s short-haul business class is worth it if the price is right and you appreciate the occasional yogurt or fish entrée with wine. If you’re expecting seamless comfort, though, prepare for a journey that delivers apple juice dreams and economy-class realities.

Author: Mitzilinka (Turning grim reality into comic relief-without losing the truth)

EU weighs “drone wall” on eastern border, leaning on Ukrainian know-how as Nato plugs near-term gaps

The EU is moving to harden its eastern frontier against low-cost unmanned threats after a wave of drones violated Polish airspace this month, prompting Warsaw to trigger Nato consultations under Article 4. The European Commission has signalled support for a common “drone wall” built on interoperable systems and jointly financed procurement, with Brussels also preparing a “drone alliance” with Kyiv to industrialise battlefield-tested Ukrainian technologies. While full details are still being shaped, the initiative dovetails with new EU defence financing tools and Nato’s rapid reinforcement of air defences along the eastern flank.

The sense of urgency sharpened after Poland reported that 19–23 drones entered its airspace on 9–10 September; allied jets intercepted some of the UAVs and several airports temporarily restricted operations. Warsaw invoked Article 4 the following day, saying the incursions posed a direct threat to national and alliance security.

To cover the near term, Nato has launched Operation Eastern Sentry, deploying fighter aircraft, ships and sensors from multiple allies from Finland to Bulgaria to deter and defeat further incursions. French Rafales have already operated over Poland under the mission, according to official and open-source briefings.

At EU level, the Commission has encouraged capitals to co-buy counter-UAS kits proven in Ukraine and to standardise command-and-control so that border states do not field incompatible solutions. The effort aligns with Security Action for Europe (SAFE)—a proposed €150 billion loans facility backed by the EU budget—through which nearly €100 billion could be channelled to the eastern flank for defence investments if governments opt in.

Ukrainian experience is shaping the concept of operations. Because small, low-flying Shahed-type drones can be hard to spot on conventional radar, Kyiv’s industry and military built a nationwide mesh of acoustic sensors, cueing mobile teams with anti-aircraft cannon or heavy machine guns—a far cheaper way to defeat mass drone attacks than expending premium interceptor missiles. Baltic states have begun adapting similar methods, officials say.

Commission officials have also discussed a “drone alliance” with Ukraine, paired with EU financing to scale manufacturing of counter-UAS, detection, and electronic warfare systems, though precise budget lines and instruments are still being refined. The initiative would sit alongside existing EU measures to accelerate joint procurement and strengthen the defence industrial base.

Taken together, the “drone wall” concept, SAFE loans and Eastern Sentry represent a two-track response: Nato provides immediate air-defence cover, while the EU works to stand up a cost-effective, interoperable perimeter built around rapidly scalable tech—much of it proven over Ukraine—so member states can blunt future low-cost aerial threats without burning through expensive missile stocks.

EU weighs “drone wall” on eastern border, leaning on Ukrainian know-how as Nato plugs near-term gaps

The EU is moving to harden its eastern frontier against low-cost unmanned threats after a wave of drones violated Polish airspace this month, prompting Warsaw to trigger Nato consultations under Article 4. The European Commission has signalled support for a common “drone wall” built on interoperable systems and jointly financed procurement, with Brussels also preparing a “drone alliance” with Kyiv to industrialise battlefield-tested Ukrainian technologies. While full details are still being shaped, the initiative dovetails with new EU defence financing tools and Nato’s rapid reinforcement of air defences along the eastern flank.

The sense of urgency sharpened after Poland reported that 19–23 drones entered its airspace on 9–10 September; allied jets intercepted some of the UAVs and several airports temporarily restricted operations. Warsaw invoked Article 4 the following day, saying the incursions posed a direct threat to national and alliance security.

To cover the near term, Nato has launched Operation Eastern Sentry, deploying fighter aircraft, ships and sensors from multiple allies from Finland to Bulgaria to deter and defeat further incursions. French Rafales have already operated over Poland under the mission, according to official and open-source briefings.

At EU level, the Commission has encouraged capitals to co-buy counter-UAS kits proven in Ukraine and to standardise command-and-control so that border states do not field incompatible solutions. The effort aligns with Security Action for Europe (SAFE)—a proposed €150 billion loans facility backed by the EU budget—through which nearly €100 billion could be channelled to the eastern flank for defence investments if governments opt in.

Ukrainian experience is shaping the concept of operations. Because small, low-flying Shahed-type drones can be hard to spot on conventional radar, Kyiv’s industry and military built a nationwide mesh of acoustic sensors, cueing mobile teams with anti-aircraft cannon or heavy machine guns—a far cheaper way to defeat mass drone attacks than expending premium interceptor missiles. Baltic states have begun adapting similar methods, officials say.

Commission officials have also discussed a “drone alliance” with Ukraine, paired with EU financing to scale manufacturing of counter-UAS, detection, and electronic warfare systems, though precise budget lines and instruments are still being refined. The initiative would sit alongside existing EU measures to accelerate joint procurement and strengthen the defence industrial base.

Taken together, the “drone wall” concept, SAFE loans and Eastern Sentry represent a two-track response: Nato provides immediate air-defence cover, while the EU works to stand up a cost-effective, interoperable perimeter built around rapidly scalable tech—much of it proven over Ukraine—so member states can blunt future low-cost aerial threats without burning through expensive missile stocks.

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