Places That Matter - Radomsko, Poland

Photo credits: Alessandro Imbriaco, #PlacesthatMatter 2017

In December there was just a snow covered expanse, never ending countryside with dark trees dotting the white landscape. In the spring of the following year pillars of the new factory appeared out of the ground. It was 2007 and Radomsko was reborn. Vittorio Merloni, however, was not the first Italian to be attracted to our town. In the early sixteenth century Bona Sforza, daughter of Gian Galeazzo Sforza and Isabella of Naples, wife of Sigismund I the Old, King of Poland, had a Franciscan Monastery built not far from our factory.

Places That Matter - Radomsko, Poland

Photo credits: Alessandro Imbriaco, #PlacesthatMatter 2017

Then came the World War II and Radomsko became “Banditenstadt”, the city of bandits, so named because of its courageous and incisive defence against the Germans. Still today the supporters of our football team RKS, Radomszczański Klub Sportowy, put this name on their flags.

Places That Matter - Radomsko, Poland

Photo credits: Alessandro Imbriaco, #PlacesthatMatter 2017

We began working metal in the nineteenth century, it was agricultural tools back then, today we produce state of the art dishwashers and washing machines, 1,000,000 a year in 2010, 6,000,000 a year today.

Places That Matter - Radomsko, Poland

Photo credits: Alessandro Imbriaco, #PlacesthatMatter 2017

Whirlpool has arrived and broadened its horizons. Some of us discovered America when we were young, not just dreaming the American dream, but shouting and screaming heavy metal songs, to let out our rage and our desire for liberty against a regime that was about to collapse. In fact we are all still heavy metal kids, as William S. Burroughs wrote. We are still ready to fight for our factory and our family. We do not give up easily. And many have already realized this.