Borimex, from winches and silencers to unmanned ground vehicles

In an era dominated by artificial intelligence, information technology and electronics, mechanical components production remains key to most defence systems. The Borimex Group is family owned and will remain in the future; it has been active for over 50 years in the production of mechanical components for the civilian market adopting the latest technologies, and 19 years ago it has entered the defence world, with a variety of products, ranging from armoured vehicles subcomponents to suppressors for small arms

EDR On-Line visited Borimex as part of a study tour on the Polish Defence Industry organised by Polska Agencja Inwestycji i Handlu (PAIH), the Polish Investment and Trade Agency [1], and met Arkadiusz Słaby, the group production director. The group split its military related activities [2] into four companies, Bor Winch, which produces winches mostly for military use, Bor Defenc, active in the design and production of components for armoured vehicles, Gomander, which designs and manufactures suppressors for small arms, and an entity dedicated to autonomous land vehicles.

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Located in Borowa, around 100 km east of Krakow, Borimex has 150 employees, a facility covering 10,000 m2 of working space, and produces around 8,000 components per year. The revenues are increasing considerably, from 35 million PLN in 2024 to 43 million in 2025 (+23%), with a forecast for 2026 of 53 million, with a nearly constant yearly increase of 23-25% until 2029 when revenues should reach the 100 million PLN mark. Research and development investment is around 5-6 million PLN per year with a 10-15% increase per year forecasted for the near future R&D is partially financed by PARP, for Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości, the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, while over 1 million PLN can be deducted from taxes, the production director explained. Considering the increase in defence expenditure the military share should remarkably increase in the next few years. Borimex is continuously improving its production processes; “We have optimised out welding methods which allowed us to spare 34% of the time compared to the past,” Arkadiusz Słaby stated. Large welding machines were acquired as well as CNC robotic machines were acquired to optimise the production process and reduce the risk of a lack of manpower.

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“Our major national defence customer is PGZ Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ), the Polish Armament Group; the export share is currently around 40%, but we aim at increasing it in the next two-three years,” the production director told us. Scandinavian countries are presently the main export customers; the Rosomak 8×8 is produced in Poland under license from Finnish Patria by the company with the same name, part of PGZ, and uses a Borimex winch, EDR On-Line understanding that the Polish company is providing its winches also for Patria 6×6 armoured personnel carriers.

Bor Winch produces two lines of products, hydraulic winches, two of them to be installed on the side of the vehicle; the 119-130 kN one is installed on the left side of the Rosomak, between the second and the third axle, a 100 kN side winch being also available. Two other hydraulic winches are designed to be installed at the front of the vehicle one with a 70-100 kN pulling force, another providing 250-300 kN. “Now we also have new electric winches,” Mr. Słaby said.

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EDR On-Line understood that the 70 kN hydraulic winch is being provided for the Patria 6×6 APC, the baseline vehicle of the CAVS (Common Armoured Vehicle System) multinational programme which sees Finland, Latvia, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and UK acquiring jointly the same vehicle.

Bor Defence is designing and producing armoured doors and hatches for wheeled and tracked vehicles, bow wave deflectors and propellers to be installed on amphibious vehicles, as well as turret baskets. Mechanical components as well as fuel and oil tanks are also part of its portfolio, to which a new product was recently added, an anti-drone net to be installed on vehicles.

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Gomander is the company in charge of designing and producing small arms silencers, three types of mounting being available, direct threat (DT), over barrel (OB) and quick detach (QD). In the last three-four years the Polish legislation has changed and now hunters and civilians can use silencers. “Nowadays 80% of our sales come from the civilian market, however this will surely change considering the new contracts [from military customers],” Arkadiusz Słaby explained.

The newest division is the one dedicated to unmanned systems, which unveiled the prototype of its first unmanned ground vehicle at MSPO 2026.

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With business ever increasing, Borimex is expanding its working space, building new halls on its premises, as well as new offices for engineers. Space is a critical issue, however even more important is the personnel recruitment. “The Borimex location is far away from main towns; local recruiting helps both the company and the community, so engineers come mainly from Rzeszów Polytechnic, a division dealing with new technologies, machine building and aeronautics, these skills being those needed by Borimex, the company also supporting 8-10 students attending a technical high school in Mielec who participate in a work-study programme,” Arkadiusz Słaby explained. While the ownership is not looking at acquiring smaller companies to widen the scope of Borimex, what is clear according to the production director is that the Borowa-based group will transform from a purely mechanic into a reality where electronics will have an important part, hence the recruitment of electronic engineers.

Photos courtesy Borimex and P. Valpolini

[1] PAIH is the first point of contact for exporters and investors operating in dozens of markets globally. It provides free consulting to grow and promote Polish businesses. Among its missions, PAIH supports Polish companies in promoting their brands on export markets.

[2]  Beside military-related equipment Borimex is active in energy, railway, gas & oil, trucks, buses and agricultural machine components, industrial machinery, and electrical products such as brushless motors.