The independent garage services and spare parts distribution market in Poland is an absolutely incredible phenomenon. There is probably no other country in Europe where its share in the entire automotive segment is as large as in our country. The companies that have successfully grown into it have also taken the foreign automotive markets by storm, posing a threat to their local leaders.

These companies started out as small family businesses with modest capital, yet they have effectively resisted their much wealthier Western competitors. It should be pointed out that the Polish independent automotive aftermarket has developed not only without any aid from the state, but also without its knowledge. One day, to its amazement, the government discovered that Poland had a completely new and effective sector of the economy, which had grown all by itself, without any support from the government agencies or funds.

Although the Polish independent aftermarket is over 30 years old and accounts for a significant part of the history of entrepreneurship in free Poland, it has not been subject to any academic study or research. Who knows, maybe one day someone will write a chapter on it in a dissertation devoted to the contemporary economic history of our country. Its authors would certainly appreciate access to source documents and memories of those who witnessed the birth of the independent aftermarket in Poland as well as those who created it.

The interviews included in this book refer not only to the past but also to the present and the future. They also make an interesting tale of how resourcefulness, ingenuity and hard work have turned into success.