Poland is seen as a rapidly growing market for Irish and other European businesses, according to Dubliner Eoin Hanley, office manager for Belfast-based recruitment company, Grafton, who set up an office in Warsaw last year and are expanding their business there rapidly.

The company, which already operates in South America, Asia, Africa and Australasia, entered eastern Europe in 1994 when it set up an office in Prague. It then set up another in Budapest in 1996. But, according to Eoin Hanley, the Polish venture is really going places.

Eoin Hanley says that his company is benefiting hugely from increased external investment in Poland, particularly from Irish and British-based companies and its adoption of a free market system.

Grafton Recruitment's Polish operation is their leading European business in terms of revenue growth and potential market share. With a staff of 12, Eoin Hanley predicts further significant growth for Grafton and other Irish service companies of similar ambition.

With British and Irish companies entering the Polish market, such as AIB and the Glen Dimplex group, their staffing requirements focus on the need for bi- and multi-lingual employees, says Eoin Hanley.

Growth in this sector has created a niche gap in the human resources market which Grafton Recruitment has stepped into. Recently they placed bilingual sales staff with cosmetics giant L'Oreal from a client base that also includes Glaxo Welcome, Deloitte and Touche, and AIB.

Their presence worldwide and networked databases allows for a greater pool of candidates for jobs which in turn gives their clients much greater chance of successful placement.

Grafton, says Eoin Hanley, expects to employ 40 people in their European operations by the end of this year with the possibility of further expansion on an international and domestic scene.