On 4 December 2006 the Chairman of the Board of Arctic Paper Kostrzyn S.A. picked up an award for first place in the Pearls of the Polish Economy ranking.

The Pearls of the Polish Economy ranking is compiled annually by Puls Biznesu and the international economic survey company Coface Poland. So what is so special about it? Well, certainly the fact that it is the number one ranking in Poland to group large businesses and evaluate them on the basis of the role they play in specific regions.

This year there were 425 companies battling for victory in each of 16 provinces. Coface Poland was responsible for the initial selection. The financial data at the disposal of the economic survey company then served as a basis for refining the list of candidates. All the companies were examined in terms of sales trends over the years 2003–2005, providing their turnover during those years was at least 100 million zlotys. The criterion deciding whether a company made it onto the list of nominated companies was the Coface Group rating. This took into account the company’s credit rating, among other things. The decision then lay with representatives of local authorities, the media and ordinary citizens. Anyone visiting the website at www.pulsbiznesu.pl/filary, a site dedicated to the ranking, could cast their vote. Support could also be expressed by sending a text message.