PromZ Vak 4 · 2026 · English edition

By Sem van Lit

Poland Special

Guapa Clean up: conscious production, targeted personalization

Guapa’s story begins differently from what you might expect from a Polish specialist in cleaning and maintenance products. In 1993, Dutch entrepreneur Henk Dijkstra founded the company. More than thirty years later, Guapa Produkcja Sp. z o.o. serves customers throughout Europe from Poland. “Our Dutch roots are an important part of our history,” says Jacek Kozlowski, Managing Director of Guapa Clean Up. He is responsible for strategy, production, sales and international relations.

Guapa Clean Up started with one simple product: a car sponge covered with natural chamois leather. It quickly found its way to customers in Western Europe during the 1990s and laid the foundation for a broader range of automotive and household products. Promotional textiles and fully customized cleaning products were gradually added to the portfolio.

The Lubusz region has a strong manufacturing tradition and a workforce of experienced specialists with extensive technical knowledge. This expertise provides an important foundation for product quality and further development. However, keeping European production competitive has not always been easy. Rapidly rising costs, supply chain uncertainty and price pressure from imported products presented a major challenge. “We focused on what we could control and improve ourselves: production efficiency, flexibility and quality.”

An important turning point was the introduction of an inhouse digital printing facility. This made it possible to fully personalize functional products and use them as communication tools. After all, a cloth, sponge or cleaning pad keeps a brand visible during everyday use. The expertise behind such seemingly simple products is often underestimated, Jacek Kozlowski emphasizes. The material, fibre density, absorbency, finishing and production method together determine the quality. “Product development is not only about technical specifications. You have to listen, test and keep improving based on feedback.”

Jacek Kozlowski explains: “That is why we made a conscious decision to continue investing in production in Poland.” While outsourcing to lower-cost countries sometimes appeared to be the easier option, the company strengthened its own manufacturing capabilities and invested in technology, energy efficiency and renewable energy. “Today, we can see that this was the right direction.” These investments were not only about machinery or energy infrastructure, but also about defining what kind of company Guapa Clean Up wanted to become: a European manufacturer that maintains control over quality and can respond quickly to changing customer needs.

A personalized cleaning product requires the right balance between functionality, quality, quantities, lead time and price. A solution that works for one product or industry is not automatically suitable for another application. Guapa Clean Up therefore sees its role as more than that of a manufacturer. “We work with customers from the concept stage and help them select the right material, production technology, personalization method and packaging.” Thanks to its own production capabilities, the company can tailor solutions to the customer’s actual needs.

Personalization means more than simply adding a logo. The aim is to create a useful product that performs well, represents the customer’s brand appropriately and makes commercial sense. In the years ahead, three trusted principles will continue to form the foundation: quality, cooperation and continuous improvement.