Eureko Randstad becomes - Netherlands

Transcription

The Netherlands-Polish
Chamber of Commerce
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No.
25 Summer 2008
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A shared first place at this year’s
Dutch - Polish Trade Award page 6
Football mission
visits Warsaw page 11
ÜÜÜ°iÕÀi°iÌ
Randstad becomes
the biggest staffing agency in Poland
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Understanding of the organizations’ culture is a key to successful merger page 12
mairomem nI
In memoriam
Bulletin Summer 2008
4
Word of the Chairman
5
Chamber events
6Report
Dutch - Polish Trade Award
11Interview
Trade mission aims
at European Championship 2012
6
12Cover story
Randstad merges with Active Plus
16
News
19
Interview
Nijwa and CoBouw are this year’s winners
of the Dutch - Polish Trade Award
Crowdsourcing:
using the knowledge of your employees
20
Interview
TB Trucks looks back
on its first year in Poland
23
Career tracker
24
Column
Paweł Wojciechowski
25Q and A
11
26New members
27
Annual report
28
Interview
29
I nterview
New board member
Eric van Vliet
30
I nterview
Thoughts on the Chamber
by Marcel Boer
Football mission takes advantage
of European Championship 2012
New board member
Remco van der Kroft
12
“In the Netherlands it is normal to start your first
job as a flex worker. In Poland this is different”, says
Kees Stroomer, General Manager
of Randstad Poland
WWW
U E . E C. OTTOWORKFORCE
R O F K R O W O T T O . W W. EU
W
Bulletin
3
Netherlands - Polish
Chamber
Chamber of Commerce
Warszawa
events
From the Chairman
Dear members and friends of the Chamber,
Krakowskie Przedmieście 79
00-079 Warszawa
Tel.: + 48 22 828 06 21
Fax: + 48 22 828 04 59
E-mail: [email protected]
Poznań
Piekary 6/16
61-823 Poznań
Tel.: + 48 61 858 67 80
Fax: + 48 61 851 62 14
Gdańsk
Długi Targ 46/47
80-830 Gdańsk
Tel.: + 48 58 324 88 72
Fax: + 48 58 324 88 73
Kraków
Rynek Główny 6
31-042 Kraków
Tel.: + 48 12 431 24 75
Fax: + 48 12 428 03 01
The holiday season has arrived and we see our friends and colleagues leaving for or returning
from vacation. If you are still looking forward to your holidays then I wish you a nice vacation.
The Polish economy is still doing well, however growth is less than last year. Unemployment
decreased further, while incomes are showing a steady rise. Combined with the appreciation
of the Złoty we see Polish people that worked abroad coming back to find their future again
in their own country.
In the past period we had a number of events for the Dutch and international community.
Our Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank Heemskerk, together with the Chairman of the Dutch
Social Economic Council Alexander Rinnooy Kan, headed a successful trade mission in the
beginning of July. Many participants from Holland came over to meet with potential trade
partners. Before going to Poland, the mission visited Ukraine. From this combination, you can
see that the main goal was creating business around Euro 2012.
Another nice event took place in Amstelveen in the premises of KPMG. The ceremony
regarding the Dutch Polish Trade Award, took place in a pleasant atmosphere, where the very
enthusiastic companies that were nominated presented themselves. The event was visited by
more than 100 people from Dutch and Polish businesses and the Polish government.
We also organised the yearly “Jobmarket” together with our Belgian colleagues and the
Embassy. Because it is more and more difficult to get the right staff on board, this event proves
to be very worthwhile for the participating companies, and of course, the people that visited
the market to find a job.
What I should not forget to mention are the evenings that the Dutch football team played
in the European Championship 2008. Together with the Dutch Embassy, the Nederlandse
Vereniging, and Punt NL, we organised well-attended meetings in the Lolek Pub, where
people could watch the games on a big screen. The evenings were not only visited by the
Dutch, but also our opponents were invited as well as our Polish friends.
Besides articles and interviews about the above-mentioned events, you will find the usual
columns and articles about the combination of Randstad and A-plus staff agency, DAF and
about crowdsourcing. In addition, our new Board members Eric van Vliet and Remco van der
Kroft presented themselves.
I hope you will enjoy reading this Bulletin.
Fred Hoogerbrug,
Chairman of the Netherlands-Polish Chamber of Commerce.
Bulletin is a quarterly magazine published by the Netherlands
- Polish Chamber of Commerce that aims to provide important
information on bilateral business relations and activities
between the Netherlands and Poland.
Please e-mail any of your comments and helpful information
to [email protected].
Editor-in-Chief:
Concept and Production:
Columnists:
Photos: Elro van den Burg ([email protected])
Providentia Invest Sp. z o.o.
Tel.: + 48 22 551 75 85
Jacek Turczyk
Elro van den Burg
NCHB
Bulletin
4
Creative Problem
Solving workshop
by Healthy Growth
On May 5, Marc van den Steen, Managing Director at the Belgian based
consultancy company Healthy Growth, ran a workshop on Creative Problem
Solving (CPS). This event was the first in a series of workshops organized in
cooperation between the Netherlands - Polish Chamber of Commerce and
Belgian Business Chamber. Business participants from Polish, Dutch and
Belgian companies were joined by representatives from the Dutch and Belgian
embassies and trade councils.
The CPS concept starts from the wisdom of non competing industries which
can learn from each other and make it easier to solve their strategic issues.
Obviously it is up to each of the participants to choose their own hot topics.
During the session, a question tour was made among the participants and it
soon became clear that an issue shared by all was the question of how to be
more successful in staff retention. It is difficult to hire good staff, but even more
challenging is to keep them. Simply paying more money is definitely not the
best approach.
Healthy Growth will organize three-day workshops on CPS in September and
December 2008. Participants of these workshops can be both HR managers
and business unit managers.
Chamber
agenda
The Netherlands - Polish
Chamber of Commerce activities
September 2 Dutch Business Drink
L ocation: Polonia Palace Hotel, Bar Bojangles,
Al. Jerozolimskie 45, Warsaw, 18.30 - 20.30
Sponsored by: Athlon Car Lease Polska Sp. z o.o.
September 24Workshop - Real estate for foreigners
in Poland in particular agriculture land
More information will be provided on
www.nlchamber.com.pl
Prepared by: Fortis Intertrust Polska Sp. z o.o.
October
Workshop – Changes in VAT
More information will be provided on
Prepared by: Deloitte
October 7Dutch Business Drink
International Job Fair
Location: Polonia Palace Hotel, Bar Bojangles,
Sponsored by: Nyenrode Business Universiteit
The idea of International Job Fair in Warsaw is to promote the most enterprising
companies that create jobs and assist them in finding suitable candidates for
the jobs. This year’s fair is dedicated to such countries as the Netherlands,
Belgium and Luxembourg.
During this fair employers can present job vacancies and information about
opportunities on the regional labour market, living and working conditions in
countries of the Benelux. EURES network staff will assist employers to recruit
candidates for work.
Last year, this fair gathered about 9.000 unemployed and job seekers.
Organization’s participation in that event will raise the event’s prestige
and importance. Organizers of the V International Job Fair – Warsaw
2008 are: The Office of the Warsaw City – Department of Social Policy, The
Labour Office of Warsaw, The Voivodship Labour Office in Warsaw, The
Military Centre of Vocational Activity, The Warsaw University, The Centre for
Vocational Development in Warsaw, Polish Association for Persons with Mental
Handicap.
Don’t miss the chance and register your company, participation is
free of charge! Soon more information will be provided on websites:
www.mtp.um.warszawa.pl and www.nlchamber.com.pl.
October 29V International Job Fair
Location: Palace of Culture and Science,
Pl. Defilad 1, Warsaw, 10.00 - 17.00, 4th floor
November 4 Dutch Business Drink
Location: Polonia Palace Hotel, Bar Bojangles,
Sponsored by: Dehora Consultancy Group
For more information visit
Bulletin
5
CoBouw Polska:
won by two Dutch companies
“A reward for six years of sheer hard work”
During a crowded meeting, representatives from Nijhof - Wassink and CoBouw Polska received the
prize from the Polish Deputy Minister for Regional Development Jarosław Pawłowski. Both companies
ended up with exactly the same amount of points. In the next few pages, we will have a closer look at
the winners: Nijhof - Wassink, CoBouw Polska and the winner of the 2nd prize, Ponetex.
After a few years, the Dutch construction company CoBouw Polska is finally harvesting from its
investments on the Polish market. It is constructing ever-larger buildings and it receives more
assignments than it is able to construct. The icing on the cake came earlier this year when CoBouw,
together with the transport company Nijhof - Wassink, won the Dutch - Polish Trade Award.
for warehouses in the areas of the main transport corridors of the country.
Poland is developing itself more and more as a transport country and this
is where we benefit from as well.”
What is the impact on your company of the hampering economic growth?
“We haven’t felt much of it yet. We are still receiving many offers from our
clients from Poland and abroad. I think that for construction companies in the
industry that I work in, there is still a lot of work to do.”
Another topic is the low unemployment rate among construction workers.
How do you cope with that as a construction company?
On the left at the photo, Chairman Mr. Dutilh, of the NPCH with the winners and nominees receiving the award from the hands of Minister Jarosław Pawłowski
Jos Amsing, one of the founders of CoBouw
The Dutch - Polish Trade Award was established to bring the success of Dutch
entrepreneurs in Poland into the spotlight. The initiative for the DPTA was taken
by the Netherlands - Polish Chamber of Commerce and the Netherlands Polish Council for Trade Promotion (NPCH).
The winners of 2008
The company CoBouw Polska that was founded in 2002, constructs industrial
buildings in Poland, by using building materials from the Netherlands and
Belgium. Over a short period, they have grown into a company with 60
employees and a production of about 25 industrial buildings per year. Besides
this, CoBouw has advised many Dutch entrepreneurs that were starting
business in Poland in the process from purchasing of a plot, to the completion
of the building.
The other winner, Nijhof - Wassink Group, has two main activities, both in
the Netherlands and in Poland: international transportation and Volvo Truck
dealership. Nijhof - Wassink Group is already 18 years on the Polish market
and employs 250 people. It is active with five offices on the Polish market.
In addition, Nijhof - Wassink advises many starting fellow entrepreneurs.
A second prize was awarded to Ponetex logistics. This company was
established in 1995 by the Dutch company Timmermans and offers a complete
range of services in the field of logistics.
The importance of the DPTA is underlined by a large group of Dutch
entrepreneurs that showed up during the awarding of the prize at the KPMG
building in Amstelveen. Good trade relations between Poland and the
Netherlands have been shared for a long time. Every year the Netherlands
show up in the top-10 of trading partners of Poland. After Poland’s accession
to the EU in May 2004, the trade between both countries have grown
considerably.
Winners
2008 - CoBouw Polska, a constructor of industrial
buildings and Nijhof - Wassink, an international transport
company and dealer of Volvo Trucks.
2007 - Addit BV, a contract manufacturer, started
greenfield in 1996 in Węgrów with the production of
technical components like chassis, frameworks and other
sheet metal work parts.
2006 - Goossens Flevoplant, a producer of strawberry
plants has been operating for 50 years. Goossens
Flevoplant has offices in the Netherlands, Poland, and
Ukraine.
2005 - Raben Group, an international transport and
logistics company, operating on the European market
for 70 years and on the Polish market since 1991. The
company provides a network of 19 own terminals and
employs 2,600 people in Poland.
Bulletin
6
Asked about the roots of the company, Jos Amsing, one of the founders and
owners of CoBouw, explains that his company is not focusing anymore on
clients from the Netherlands and abroad. CoBouw is attracting more and more
clients from Poland thanks to strong złoty combined with developments on the
local market.
Jos Amsing: “When we were founded I chose the name CoBouw, in order to be
recognized easily in the Netherlands. However, since the Polish companies are
developing fast, CoBouw managed to obtain an important share of the local
market as well. “You see that many Polish companies are becoming stronger
and stronger and are looking for new buildings too. Therefore, Poland itself is
a huge and interesting market.”
“An important factor is that you reward your staff with a good salary. We are
paying our construction workers between 10 and 14 PLN per hour and so they
can earn a good salary with us. We see that many Polish construction workers
are still abroad. This uncertainty in the labour market inspired us to establish
a recruitment company in Ukraine. Currently already 20 to 40 percent of the
workers on our construction sites in Poland come from Ukraine.”
How big is the gap in the salaries between the Poles and the workers from
Ukraine?
“There is no difference; we pay the Ukrainians who work in Poland exactly the
same as the Poles. We aren’t providing the construction workers from Ukraine
to Poland on a huge scale yet. I am though very satisfied that we started this
business. We now have a database of skilled labour in the East that we can
make use of, in case the situation on the Polish labour market gets worse.
We also see that many of our clients move to Ukraine and Russia and we are
thinking of doing the same. Due to our present cooperation in Ukraine, it will
be easier for us to set up a branch office for CoBouw in the future to serve our
clients in Ukraine.”
What are your strong features on the Polish building market?
“CoBouw takes care of the complete building project, so from the beginning
when our client is looking for a building plot, by preparing architectural concepts
and impressions, organising the building permit, completing all building works
and finally achieving the permit for the use of the building. Thanks to these
attitudes, especially new clients on the Polish market may take advantage of
choosing CoBouw as the general contractor of their new industrial building
in Poland.”
Are you happy that you won the DPTA?
“I feel like it was a very nice surprise. When we were asked to send in the
application form, I didn’t expect to hear anything from that anymore. Now we
have won it, I personally feel this is a reward for the last six years of sheer
hard work.”
What are the latest trends and developments in the warehouse market?
“We are getting a lot of work from companies that are starting their business
in the economic zones in Poland. These zones are very popular because
they offer a return on investment costs of up to 60 percent. This sometimes
builds huge interests in our products. For example, in the economic zone
in Wykroty in the southern part of Poland, we received three orders after
successfully completing a first building. Furthermore, there is a huge demand
Bulletin
7
Nijhof - Wassink Poland:
“Persevering and not getting nervous”
For many drivers that pass by the building of Nijhof - Wassink, prominently situated in Kutno,
is just a landmark during a trip from Poznań to Warsaw. Not many of them know the history
of ‘Nijwa’ that belongs to the first Dutch companies that were established in Poland.
Ponetex Logistics:
“From a wholesaler in straw to an international logistics provider”
Timmermans Transport & Logistics is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Since the establishment in 1933
as a wholesaler in straw, the company has developed itself into a medium size logistic service provider.
Above all this, in this anniversary-year, their Polish logistics daughter company Ponetex Logistics was
awarded the second prize in the Dutch - Polish Trade Award contest.
What I noticed is that you work almost completely with Polish staff. What
are your experiences with that?
What kind of services does Ponetex offer?
“If you look at the companies we serve, we have a great variety of clients.
We have stored chocolate, tobacco, and fertilizers. The companies that
we work for have very diverse demands. Some of them simply want us to store
their products. Others want us to repack and bundle, and other clients want
us to arrange everything. For some of them we deliver the goods, pick up the
returns, and store this again.”
“We started with a clean sheet here in Poland. We didn’t take over a company
and so we recruited our own people, which was an advantage. When we were
searching for new staff, we looked for young people who were ambitious and
flexible and who wanted to build their own future. Under our current Polish
management, I come here one week per month, but I leave the responsibility
to the local management. I have shown them the upper target line and the
lower target line and if the situation stays between those lines, than they can
leave me out of it. When it comes to investments or human resource issues at
a management level or when there is an extraordinary situation, then I want
to be informed. Of course you have different cultures between Poland and the
Netherlands, but in the end we all cook eggs in water.”
What is the position of Ponetex and Timmermans in Europe?
But haven’t you experienced problems by delegating so much?
Albert Hendrikse managing director of Nijhof - Wassink
“It is tough to make money in the transport business in Poland at the moment.”
When I arrived in Kutno, I noticed that Nijhof - Wassink is located
at Holenderska street. What is the story behind this?
Albert Hendrikse: “In 1990, one of the two founders Herman Nijhof transferred
his shares of his transport company Nijhof - Wassink to his children and went
to Poland to establish a business there. Right from the start, he had a good
relationship with the major of Kutno where we have our main office for Poland.
Herman Nijhof not only invested in his own company but also had an eye for
the local community. Kutno didn’t have a police office, so we built that here
on our land right next to our security building. Until today, this is still in use
for the Kutno area. We are also supporting the football club in Kutno and we
are the main sponsor for the Polish Speed Skating Association. So we have
always wanted to do something for the local community here in Poland, and
in recognition of what we have done, they therefore named this street after
the Netherlands.”
“I don’t know if this came down to culture, but there was one big disappointment
in 1995. We had the situation that the management of the dealer operation left
and started their own activities. But apart from that, we are very satisfied.”
Over the years, Nijhof - Wassink has expanded the operation to four
locations in Poland. What are the prospects for the future?
“If you look at the Polish transport market, it is a bit shaky at the moment, to be
fair. We have the bank crisis, the strong złoty, and high fuel prices. So it is tough
to make some money in the local transport business. But at the end of the day,
goods have to be transported, so what we do, is we include this in the transport
prices. And if I look at the near future, there are still a lot of activities. So I hope
that in September or October the market will pick up, and if not, then I foresee
a heavy year in 2009, but if that happens then we are ready for it. That is a part
of life. It is important not to get nervous and to see that you stay financially
strong in order to persist when times are getting tougher.”
Nijhof - Wassink is one of the pioneers in the transport business in Poland.
What were the problems and challenges for conducting business in those
early days?
“When we established ourselves in 1990, we not only founded a transport
company but also started a Volvo Truck dealership which we also have and
still keep in the Netherlans. The transport company is specialised in storing
and transporting dry bulk and liquids. Our main product that we handle is PETS
(Polyethylene). The biggest issue in the beginning of our Volvo business was
financing. So what we did was to establish a finance company. In that way,
it was easier to sell new trucks. But it was an insecure time. Clients couldn’t
present a history of payment, so we had to look for other ways to limit our
risks. Therefore, we asked for large prepayments and we kept in touch with our
customers. We also involved our expertise in transport in their business and
in that way we stayed in closer touch and followed their financial results.”
Ms. Timmermans - Van Alphen of Ponetex Logistics in Poland and Timmermans Transport
& Logistics in the Netherlands
Timmermans holding has been active on the Polish market through their Polish
logistics daughter company Ponetex that opened its doors in 1996. The idea
for the Polish operation actually started much earlier, when the company was
sending relief goods to the city of Rakoniewice. After this, Jan Timmermans
and the major of this Polish city kept in contact and that was how the Polish
operation of Timmermans Logistics came about.
In December 2004, your husband, the company owner Jan Timmermans
passed away. As a result of this, you immediately took over the company.
Was this a big step?
Henriëtte Timmermans - van Alphen: “In a way it was natural change. Until
one and a half year before that, I was actively involved in the daily operations
of Timmermans. When we started the business in Poland in the nineties,
I scaled down my involvement because Jan was away a lot of the time and
it was difficult to combine this with our family life. In 2002, when we opened
our new office in the Netherlands, I decided that I didn’t want to have a desk
for myself anymore. After my husband passed away, it turned out that it has
been an advantage that I was involved in the company from the beginning.
I found it too much of a big step to sell the company and my husband never
had the urge to sell the company anyway. That is why I wanted to take over the
management by myself.”
“We have a distribution network with partners that cover most of Europe.
We currently are negotiating with new partners in the Scandinavian countries.
We want to work with partners that we can completely trust and with whom
we can have a long lasting cooperation. That is why this takes time. I think
it is better to make good use of strong partners than to try to set up your
own businesses in all those countries yourself. After Scandinavia, we will start
looking for a partner in Great Britain and after that in Ukraine. In finding new
partners, we have a lot of advantage from the connections of our Ponetex
in Poland, which has already good connections with partners in the central
eastern European countries.”
The Timmermans family is also the owner of the temporary workforce
agency Axell Polska. What are the activities of this company?
“Axell Holandia started in Poland in 1999 with three offices in Gliwice, Opole,
and Racibórz. When Poland became a member of the European Union, we
foresaw a problem with lack of Polish labour force. That is why we started
Axell Polska in 2004. Axell Polska is a company that also recruits for Polish
companies with its offices throughout the whole country. We have seen Axell
Polska develop at the same speed as our customers. We usually open small
offices in the area of the companies that we work with. When the reach of
this office is too small or when there is a demand from our clients, we open
new offices. We are investigating the possibilities of opening offices in Ukraine
in the future as well.”
Did you have any doubts about the activities in Poland?
“No, Jan liked those activities enormously and thought that this had a huge
potential. The current managing director in Poland, Waldemar Osmólski, has
all the freedom that he needs. Jan gave him complete responsibility for the
daily management. The idea was to start up a business and to create a good
manager responsible for it, and then to look for something else to invest in.”
Bulletin
8
Bulletin
9
High expectations
from the so-called ‘football-mission’
Unfortunately for Minister Heemskerk, the dinner with football trainer Leo Beenhakker, to which he
had looked forward so much, was cancelled. Despite this small disappointment, the attending Dutch
companies made fruitful contacts during the Dutch trade mission, the so-called ‘football-mission’,
to Poland.
Dutch Minister Heemskerk has a sportive meeting with Mirosław Drzewiecki, Minister of Sport and Tourism of Poland
Security company Event Security was the first firm that could announce
a successful agreement during the trade mission in Poland and Ukraine. The
Dutch company will support the organisation of Euro 2012, in dealing with
hooligans and supporters from different countries attending the tournament.
Event Security also will educate the stadium stewards and will train the local
police officers.
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BE PART OF THEIR HISTORY
The ‘football-mission’ to Poland and Ukraine in July consisted of 25 Dutch
companies. The 5-day visit aimed to evaluate the chances and the possibilities
of Euro 2012 for Dutch businesses. Participating companies had a diverse
background, from producers of lighting and grass-fields to companies in the
field of tourism infrastructure. The high interest in the mission should not be
surprising. The two organising countries have earmarked 38 mln EUR for the
tournament. Minister Heemskerk was very positive about the possible results of
the mission. “I always say that for many companies the end of a trade mission
is only the first start for doing business. But I do expect many of the participants
to this mission to continue with their Polish businesses they have contacted
in the last few days.”
When you look at the number of investors, I have the impression that
especially small and medium sized companies are less interested
in Poland than a few years ago. Do you share this impression?
Are Dutch companies stimulated and facilitated enough by the Dutch
government to invest in Poland?
“We are doing a lot for the Dutch companies that are investing in Poland. The
embassy in Warsaw plays a part in that and the Netherlands - Polish Chamber of
Commerce as well. Besides this, there are also the measures from the ministry
of economic affairs. We have the regulation ‘Prepare to start’ which aims
to support conducting business outside of the Netherlands. For us Poland is
an important trading partner, and that is why we are here with this mission. We
aim to put an emphasis on the Dutch companies in Poland, but we also want
to show the Netherlands how fast Poland is developing. I was amazed when
we were in the shopping centre Złote Tarasy. When I was young, we supported
the Poles with humanitarian aid; however, here you can see a firsthand example
of why those days are long gone. The Poles are doing very well.”
And what are the accompanying Dutch companies thinking of Poland?
“I think they are very positive. What I saw for instance, when we were in Złote
Tarasy, was the producer of jacuzzi whirlpool baths who holds a licence for the
whole Europe. He was smiling because he saw people buying big Cuban cigars
in the shopping centre. He thought that if the Poles were buying these luxury
products here, why couldn’t they smoke those cigars in one of his jacuzzi’s?”
Minister Heemskerk: “I think that there is a lot of activities here. There are
some major investors from the Netherlands in Poland. Philips for instance
is producing lights and is still very competitive on the international market.
Perhaps the growth figures of Poland are hampering a little; however, don’t
forget the impact of the structural funds from the European Union. Besides
this, the organisation of Euro 2012 is really an accelerator for the growth
in this country.”
www.hotel.com.pl
Bulletin
11
Merger of Randstad and Active Plus
creates biggest staffing agency in Poland
Earlier this year the staffing companies Randstad Polska and Active Plus have announced they are
merging. The new Polish combination is part of the worldwide merger between Randstad and Vedior
and creates the leading player in temporary staffing in Poland.
When Kees Stroomer, general manager of Randstad Poland, enters his office
building, people start to yell and applaud. This is not caused by his popularity,
but by the unexpected success, the national Dutch football team obtained the
night before, in the Euro 2008 match against Italy If you look at the orange
decorations in the office of Kees Stroomer, this certainly must be a popular
topic at work. However, it is not only football that Stroomer is concerned about
these days.
Active Plus and Randstad are two different companies with different
portfolios, clients and backgrounds. How have you bridged these
differences in the merger?
After the completion of the merger, what will the new company look like?
“We started to get to know each other between December 3, when the
announcement of the international merger was made in the Netherlands, and
the approval of the European Commission on May 16. Both companies had
formed a small integration group together. We started with this in Poland at
the end of March. We then defined the similarities and the differences between
the companies. The good news was that we have many similarities. We found
that we had differences as well, which is good news, because it makes you
more complementary to each other. The merger gives us a broader range of
products and services on the Polish market than before. One of the differences
between Randstad and Active Plus is the cross border staffing in which Active
Plus is quite strong and Randstad is not. There is a wish and a need on the
Polish market for this service and now we have this in the total product range,
which makes us as a combined partner, stronger.”
“I hope pretty much the same as it used to be. The merger takes place in a few
steps. The so-called operational merger has been effective as of May 16, 2008.
Since that date, Randstad is officially “in charge”. Nothing has changed for the
outside world until that moment. From July 1 until the end of this year we work
on what is called the legal merger. This is the period of the complete change
and rebranding of everything from Active Plus into Randstad. Following that it
will be possible for Randstad for instance to send invoices to an Active Plus
client. We are putting a lot of effort into continuity. This means that if a client
has been in contact with us before the merger, we are very strongly focused on
the fact that the client keeps the same account manager. I am also very happy
to say that during the merger nobody has been discharged. In case of double
functions, we offered the people a new or a comparable job and everybody
accepted this.”
How much do the two companies differ from each other?
The two companies have a completely different culture. How do you
manage to mix these cultures into one company?
“What you see is that Active Plus is quite strong in call centres, where we are
not. Randstad, on the other hand, is quite strong in search & selection, which
is a high-level recruitment search. We also have a special product in Randstad
that is called Randstad Invest Solutions, where we support foreign investors
in Poland in finding the best place in Poland to start their business. The aim
Bulletin
12
of this product is to get in contact with companies before they actually decide
to move to Poland. Therefore, we have good cooperation with Special Economic
Zones, government agencies supporting investors and local investor’s centres
in city halls.
These examples are just a few of the differences, which make us stronger. And
on top of that we have many similarities, for instance within the general temping
business. By merging the two companies we will create wider database of
candidates and a bigger volume of job offers which is important in an emerging
market like Poland.”
“This is quite an intensive process. When, as a new company, you create
a new combined vision, you also define the values and the behaviour of the
new company. Firstly, you have to define the values from both individual
companies that are the same and the ones that are different. Furthermore, you
Bulletin
13
do the same with the behaviour behind the values. Then you have to find in the
new combined organisation a new joint belief set. To organise this complicated
process on a personal level, we had a very intensive meeting with all the
managers in the beginning of July getting to know each other’s background
and personal beliefs.”
So this must have been an important meeting?
“Culture is very important for your organisation. It is very easy to give people
information, but that is just the tip of the iceberg, some say only 10 percent.
The 90 percent below is all culture, principles, behaviour, and key beliefs, these
kinds of issues. If you don’t have a very good understanding of those people
issues, it will never be a successful merger in the end.”
One of the problems in your market is that it is not for everybody clear
what temporary staffing exactly means.
“That is an issue in Poland. People in general are not very aware of the
possibilities of temping. That is one of the reasons this is still an immature
market. You can see this for instance from the penetration rate. There are
just over 15 million people working in Poland and there are 150,000 full
time flexible workers working every day, which is only 1 percent. Compared
to the Netherlands, where this amounts 2.5 percent, this is relatively low. In
the Netherlands however, temping is more a part of the society. There it is
normal if you started with your first job as a flexible worker, while in Poland it is
different. We as Randstad are anticipating on that in Poland. Our offices are on
the ground floor, because we want to be open and visible. We also want people
to walk in whenever they want and not on an appointment base. But it will take
time before we see changes in the attitude in Poland.”
But this probably also means that you have a different approach to your
clients than in the Netherlands?
“That is partially true. The differences are that we normally get three different
questions when we approach possible new clients. The first one is ‘I don’t
understand what flexible workers are’. Then we have to explain this. Another
one is, ‘it is too expensive for us’, which is actually not true. It is cheaper to work
with flexible workers than doing your own recruitment. What kind of company is
Randstad is another story to tell to the clients. The similarities are the concepts
we use in Poland which are applicable all over the world. The quality demands
from clients and the high service from Randstad are exactly the same.”
at companies who have incorporated the HR strategy on the highest level in the
company, for most of them, cooperating with a temping agency is part of the
HR strategy. Then it is not a threat anymore, but it’s a corporation model. I think
this is still a step that has to be made for a lot of companies in Poland.”
How do you manage to get enough temporary workers under the current
low unemployment rates?
“One of the important things is that in the new structure we are bigger than
before. That means that we can offer more jobs, and with more jobs, you can
attract more people.
We see that unemployment is getting lower, but Randstad is used to working
with low unemployment figures over the years and in various countries, so we
do have our way of working with this given fact. What is very important is that
you make sure that your flexible workers are very happy. Seventy percent of our
candidates come in by recommendation. It is important that you explain to the
companies that they should treat the flexible workers right, and if they do that,
and if you offer the right jobs, then this makes our job a whole lot easier. On top
of that, we have a clear strategy for finding people. So I think under the current
situation it might not be easy to find people but it’s doable.”
What do you think about the labour market in Poland in general?
“One of the topics is the labour code in Poland. The current situation is that
companies are not allowed to lay-off people that have 4 years to retirement age
left. Usually it concerns people who are 55 - 60 years old. As a result of that, in
Poland we have a huge problem with people who are over 55 years old. Many
of them are professionally inactive; we see for instance that the professional
activity of people at 55 years of age declines by 50% in comparison to 50-yearold people. There are two main reasons for this situation. In the first place, there
is a decrease of professional activity as the result of the possibility to benefit
from earlier retirement. Secondly, there is the fear of the employers to employ
people that cannot be fired 4 years before retirement age. If the government
changed this, it would create a lot of possibilities in terms of availability. Solving
this problem would help in keeping the right balance between the unemployed
and the job vacancies on the labour market.”
We have the best solutions
for your business
Randstad is the number one on the Polish
market. We provide our clients with the
customized solutions within temporary
staffing, employee leasing, professional
recruitment and HR services.
We concentrate our activity on offering
new, innovative value added solutions
which improve employment productivity
and reduce costs.
The company mission is to match people
and work the best and to maintain the
leadership on the market.
Our activities are based on the philosophy
”Good to know you”, which is a core value
that differentiates Randstad from its
competitors and constitutes a foundation
for the organizational culture of our
company.
The high quality of our services is proved by:
• the second place among temporary and
contract staffing organization in the world
• ISO 9001: 2000 certificate
How fast do you expect the penetration rate of flexible workers to climb
in Poland?
We invite both Clients and Candidates
to cooperate!
“If you look at the European average of the penetration rate it is just over 2%.
In Poland now, it is around 1%. That gives possibilities for growth. How fast it
will grow in reality depends on the speed in which the Polish government will
change in their legislation.”
Randstad number one in Poland.
I also understand that some of the HR departments of companies do not
see the added value of temping agencies like Randstad?
“There is a reluctance in some companies. However, I think that is unnecessary.
HR departments should be able to focus on developing their HR strategy and
not spent time on recruiting (flexible) labour. In some companies, we see
room for improvement to develop the HR strategy, to be incorporated in the
corporate strategy.
By formulating how to organise yourself, you also need to have a binding
strategy about in what direction you go with your own people. If you look
Kees Stroomer: “In quite a number of companies in Poland there is room for
improvement as regards to the HR strategy”
Bulletin
14
Randstad sp. z o.o.
Al. Jerozolimskie 56 c
00-803 Warszawa
022 462 25 00 T, 022 462 26 00 F
[email protected]
www.randstad.pl
News
News
News News News News
The Netherlands - Polish Chamber of Commerce
supports Deltion College students
Is there a market in Poland for plastic glasses from the Netherlands?
Do Polish farmers need Dutch milking robots, or how successful would an herb
liqueur be on the market in Poland. Students of the Deltion College in Zwolle
in the Netherlands prepared an export-marketing plan on these particular
products. Afterwards they went to Poland to actually see the market conditions
with their own eyes. In Poland, the Deltion College received support from the
Netherlands - Polish Chamber of Commerce. Press officer Van der Vegte of the
Deltion College: “We received a lot of help from operations manager Agnieszka
Lemańska of the Chamber, who helped the students with the ins and outs of the
Polish businesses. Thanks to the Chamber, we received personal answers we
couldn’t find ourselves on the internet.” Out of three nominations, the exportmarketing plan of Alain Luxembourg and Alex van Putten received an award
by Deltion for being best prepared. The students prepared a strengths and
weaknesses (SWOT) analysis for the Dutch herb liqueur ‘Schrobbelèr’. Van
der Vegte: “The only problem with the product was the alcohol percentage of
21 percent. This was a little low for the Polish respondents.”
Web Power enters
Grontmij incorporates
Polish KPI System
Grontmij has taken over KPI System. With the acquisition of this Polish
company, Grontmij obtains larger access to the Polish transport sector.
KPI System employs 40 people and has an annual turnover of around
1.2 million EUR.
KPI System has a strong reputation in the south of Poland, especially in the cities
of Katowice, Kraków, and Wrocław. The company has completed 55 projects
in the last three years, in the area of the design of highways and bridges.
According to Grontmij the transport market in Poland will be worth around
20 bln EUR in the years 2007 - 2013, which is partly caused by the grants
from the EU. Grontmij wants to achieve a leading position on the Polish market
in the field of consultancy and engineering services. Recently it incorporated
Roger Preston & Partners in the United Kingdom, which also has a design
department in Warsaw. This takeover strengthened Grontmij’s position on the
Polish construction market.
New railway service
the Polish market
of Nijhof - Wassink in Poland
The Dutch online marketing company Web Power has entered the Polish
market. By the end of 2008, Web Power wants to have a portfolio of 20 clients,
and it wants to reach a turnover of 1 mln PLN at the end of 2009. Web Power is
a marketing software company that delivers knowledge, products, and services
in the field of online marketing and communication applications. Jacco Bouw,
president of the board of Web Power, believes it is currently the right time
to launch its operation on the Polish market. Until the end of the year, the
Polish company that consists of four people will be assisted by an employee
of the Dutch headquarters. Email marketing is the most widely used form of
interactive marketing in Polish companies. According to a 2007 report from IAB
Poland, the organisation for interactive advertising offices in Poland, regarding
the Polish market for email marketing was worth 44.3 mln PLN. Web Power
was founded in 1999 in the Netherlands. Today the company has offices in
Shanghai, Stockholm, and Stuttgart. The company works with local and global
clients, including British Telecom, Johnson & Johnson, Air France, TUI, Lotto,
Heineken, Land Rover, and Jaguar.
Linguella
Alain Luxenbourg (Deltion College), Fons Koopman (de SCHROBBELÈR B.V.),
Alex van Putten (Deltion College)
News News News News
Survival Polish
Barbara van Litsenburg, a Dutch expat, has set up a Survival Polish language
course together with the Linguella language school. The course was born out
of a need Van Litsenburg had five years ago when she came to live in Poland
and couldn’t find a course for her needs. The new Survival Polish language
course is given by Polish teachers and will be held three mornings a week. This
course will be given in their office space in promenada shopping centre. More
info on www.linguella.pl.
Tangled up
in words?
For all of the Dutch who have difficulties in communicating
with their Polish employees, employers or business
partners, there is now an effective solution available.
Recently the handbook called ‘Business Polish for the
Dutch, business vocabulary’ has been published on the
Dutch market. The author of the book is Beata BruggemanSękowska, an academic teacher, journalist and a sworn
translator.
‘Business Polish for the Dutch, business vocabulary’ can be used as a selfstudy book and at the same time for courses and private lessons. It consists
of versatile vocabulary lists such as jobs, days of the week, numbers, but
you can also find a financial vocabulary and examples of job contracts and
job ads in it. Business Polish for the Dutch, business vocabulary is
available at several online bookstores. Excerpts of the book are available at
www.communications-unlimited.nl.
Bulletin
16
The Dutch logistic company Nijhof - Wassink starts a regular train connection
between Rotterdam and the Polish city of Kutno. The service offers five departures
per week from the PCT terminal in Rotterdam, the combined terminal of the
Dutch companies Nijhof - Wassink, Den Hartogh, and MCS. The departures
will take place on weekdays and on Saturday. It takes two days for the train to
arrive. The service has been started in July. “The train connection is as equally
quick as transportation by truck because of the regular departure times”, says
President Frans Schuitemakers of Nijhof - Wassink. The new railway service is
based on a large freight contract with the chemical group Sabic. It uses the
Polish terminal Nijhof - Wassink in Kutno, as the trans-shipment location for
their products that have been made in Saudi Arabia.
Entrepreneurial Leadership Program 2008
begins in September
On September 7, fourteen participants will begin the first module of the
Entrepreneurial Leadership Program. The program will be performed under the
responsibility of the Executive Centre of Nyenrode Business Universiteit from
the Netherlands, with the cooperation of the Koźmiński Academy from Warsaw.
Those Universities are both number one in the field of management education.
The program staff consists of Polish and Dutch coaches with a broad experience
in personal and business coaching in Poland. As a part of the program, the
participants, all directors of Polish - Dutch companies, will meet people from
theatre, music and fine arts who will help them to look a different conceptual
vision of business and inspiring leadership. Besides this, there is also an
extensive team of academic coaches from Nyenrode and Koźmiński, who will
supply custom-made knowledge. They will help in solving actual case studies
of the participants’ own businesses or jobs. In so-called ‘interventure teams’
they will work on complex, future oriented questions about the development
of their companies and themselves as ‘entrepreneurial leaders’. Through this
approach you can see the difference with other leadership programs that focus
more on ‘managerial leadership’ and that are characterised by a teaching
approach, knowledge transfer and skills training, while staying in the comfort
zone of the class room. Program Director Otto van Veen: “Strictly speaking the
Entrepreneurial Leadership Program is the third step in leadership development
after MBA and managerial skills training. Our selection of candidates is rather
critical. This program should be a place where ‘succeeders’ can drive on at
full speed.” The program is bi-lingual: Polish and English. The total program
consists of three modules, of which two are in Poland and one is at Nyenrode.
The Polish modules take place at the beautifully situated Stadnina Koni Walewice
near Bielawy in the Łódzkie region. This is the former palace of Countess Maria
Walewska, Napoleon Bonaparte’s mistress. The second edition of the program
will begin in March 2009. More information about the ELP can be found at
www.nyenrode.nl.
Miffy comes
to Poland at last
Miffy (in Dutch: Nijntje), the famous
little rabbit from Holland, will come
to Poland. The Miffy series will be
introduced in November by Format
publishing house in cooperation
with Magda van der Kroft, who has
also translated the books. The first
three titles include: “Miffy”, “Miffy w zoo” (“Miffy at the zoo”) and “Urodziny Miffy”
(“Miffy’s birthday”). Miffy is known all over the world. The stories about her have
been translated into more than 46 languages and sold in more than 85 million
copies worldwide.
Miffy, fruit of imagination of Dick Bruna was born in 1955. The Bruna family
were on holiday in Egmond aan Zee. Dick Bruna would then tell his oldest son
bedtime stories about a white rabbit and soon began to make sketches of the
bunny. This was the beginning of Miffy. Her creator gave her an enchanting
personality: uncomplicated and innocent, enthusiastic and positive whatever
the circumstances. Miffy remains a child to her readers. She encourages them
to develop in her world where the simplicity of the storylines and the drawings
give full rein to the imagination. In Miffy’s world, every day is a little adventure.
Dick Bruna was born in 1927 in Utrecht here he still lives and works as a
graphic designer, author and illustrator. With his work, the artist supports many
humanitarian organisations including UNICEF, Terre des Hommes and the Red
Cross. The Centraal Museum in Utrecht has housed a permanent exhibition
of his work since 2000 in recognition of his artistic achievement.
Raben Group increases
the number of its branches in Germany
Part of the Raben Group, Birkart Systemverkehre (BSV), which has its head
office in Mönchengladbach (Germany), has increased the number of its
terminals. BSV has purchased two sites from Cordes + Simon which belongs
to the Kühne + Nagel company. The sites are located in Mittenwalde (Berlin)
and Prenzlau (near the Polish border). In both locations, a combined total of
63 people are employed. The tran-shipment warehouses has an area of ca.
5,500 sqm and are equipped with 60 loading gates, a crane of 5 ton loading
capacity – in Mittenwalde and a video monitoring system that is also located
in Mittenwalde.
At present BSV has eight terminals in Germany located in Berlin, Prenzlau,
Mönchengladbach, Nuremberg, Aachen, Regensburg, Wuppertalu and
Würzburg.
The Polish and Dutch team with interventure coaches of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program
Bulletin
17
From Employee Idea Management
to Crowdsourcing
“Every large organisation has a number of employees who have a gift for identifying better ways of
doing things. Just about everyone else, have good ideas from time to time as well. The question is: does
management encourage everyone to contribute their ideas and then implement the best ones?”
More and more companies are using the knowledge, experience, and creativity
of their employees in overall business development. Some companies ask their
employees to fill out a form when they have an idea; others ask their employees
for feedback via an annual questionnaire. Fellowforce BV helps companies to
take employee idea management into the 21st century. ‘Our approach makes
an organisation more efficient and improvement driven,’ says Jack Allerts,
Director Operations of Fellowforce in Warsaw (www.fellowforce.com).
How is crowdsourcing developing at the moment in Europe?
Why Employee Idea Management? How is this going to help my company?
I can see that there are benefits for the companies, but what is in it for
the employee?
JA: “Where do you go when you have a good marketing idea but you work in
Operations? What do you do when you thought of a new product or service? We
work around a web based software tool called Webforce that can be hooked up
to any internet or intranet website worldwide, allowing employees to post ideas
online, any time, and for any functional area. It stimulates creativity, thinking
over the borders of departments, and increases employee motivation. There
are a lot of good ideas out there.”
“All the large international companies are interested in open innovation. Some
of these companies really do it for the ideas, like John de Mol with Talpa,
asking people worldwide for television formats (www.talpacreative.com). Other
crowdsource projects have a mere marketing objective, inviting consumers with
a fun challenge to a fun website that is full of product or company messages.”
“The best ideas get rewarded with money or special recognition awards.
However, most of the consumers are not doing it for the money. They do it ‘for
me’. It is fun when a company picks up on your idea. It is fun to communicate
with company experts to further shape your idea.”
What will be the future of crowdsourcing?
So, instead of filling out a form or talking to your boss, an employee can
post an idea on the company intranet site?
“Yes, but there is more. The ideas are visible for employees to further develop,
improve, and co-create. Employees can vote on the ideas they believe in, and
management can ask employees specific questions, like: ‘How to improve
customer services?’ or ‘Think of a name for our new product’. It is all about
involving the employee to shape the future of a company together. It is part
of the company’s internal communication strategy and can be fun as well,
like: ‘Come up with the theme for our Christmas party’. Ideas are reviewed by
experts or focus groups and the best ideas are implemented.”
What kind of companies are currently running such programs?
“We have some financial services providers in our portfolio, companies with
employees and partners in Poland and the Netherlands, but also manufacturers
and sales organisations. We recommend every company to start with Employee
Idea Management to gain experience in managing ideas and communicating
with an active innovation community. In later stages, a company can invite
partners or ask their consumers to post ideas. Then a company is moving
into crowdsourcing e.g. by asking their consumers worldwide to participate in
product development e.g.: ’What functionalities would you like to have on your
next Blackberry?’.”
“Most companies run Employee Idea Management programs, gradually
moving towards involving their partners and consumers. The next phase is to
invite certain consumers to participate in projects, e.g. to develop products
and services together, to use their specific expert knowledge and pay them for
it as well. The internet allows knowledge to be shared. In the future, we will see
consumers transform into ‘prosumers’ (producing consumers). Another trend
that will continue to grow is the use of crowdsource business models, allowing
a large group of people to participate and invest, as well as running a company
together and sharing profits as well. Brewtopia is a good example of this. An
Australian guy called Liam Mulham asked people all over the world to think of
the ultimate beer recipe in exchange for shares in the company. When they had
prepared the recipe, they put it into production with a minimum investment.
They are now starting to compete with the larger beer manufacturers.”
Jack Allerts started his career in Russia. With the fall of the
iron curtain, the East was full of opportunities. For almost
ten years he worked as a change and project manager for
Philip Morris International with assignments in Kazakhstan,
Romania, Poland and Australia. Jack currently works and
lives in Warsaw, Poland. Jack Allerts is the co-founder and
chief operations of Fellowforce, a company that connects
any organization worldwide with all experts and enthusiasts
worldwide for outside-in innovation and problem solving.
Bulletin
19
The sweet taste
of success
After a highly successful first year in establishing a branch office, TB Truck and Trailer Serwis in Poland
now faces the harsh reality of tougher market conditions in the Polish transport market. However,
Marc Koenders, Managing Director of the TB Groep, based in the Netherlands, sees this as a learning
curve. “It’s good to be brought back down to earth from time to time.”
The market for trucks is not as good as last year. What have you
noticed of that?
This kind of investment plans reveal that you have huge faith in the Polish
truck market.
MK: “The transport market is currently stagnating and that is something
everybody has to deal with. I have every confidence that this is going to be
all right with the team that we have here in Warsaw. Besides, it’s good to
be brought back down to earth from time to time. It is however sometimes
difficult to find clients that want to invest and if you already find one, then there
is a lively battle between the truck brands that may supply a client. We also
see that companies are delaying their investments. We noticed this through
some cancellations of orders. This is something we haven’t experienced in the
Netherlands. Here companies can easily change their minds when it comes
to booked orders. They are not aware that they put us in a lot of trouble if they
cancel an order a few weeks before the delivery date. We have learned from
this and we have had to change our purchase agreements for this reason.”
MK: “There is a rough calculation that we use in the truck business, which
makes good sense on a European scale. If you take the amount of inhabitants
of a certain country and you divide this by 10,000 then you have more or less
the demand for new trucks in that country. This works for the Netherlands where
the market is 16,000 trucks. In Poland, we expect this level in a mature situation
to reach between 33,000 and 36,000 per year. If we project this to DAF, we
expect them to sell 6,000 to 7,000 trucks and so our share of that should be
20 to 25 percent. This means that we want to sell 1,500 trucks on a yearly basis,
which is three times as much as in the Netherlands.”
Besides that, the clients do not seem to have scruples to resign from
an ordered truck. In what way do Polish clients differ from those in the
Netherlands?
Marc Koenders (right) Managing Director of the TB Groep and Marek Ostojak (left) Managing Director of TB Truck and Trailer Serwis Poland
Why did the TB Group decide to open a dealership in Poland?
Marc Koenders (MK): “For several years the TB Group in the Netherlands had
the ambition to expand. In Europe, we are one of the largest DAF dealers with
six DAF dealerships in the Netherlands. We discovered that it was difficult to
do this in Western Europe. Therefore, we consulted the DAF Company, and
after examining the map of Europe, we ended up in Poland. Not that Poland
wasn’t developed yet, but because in this region there was a dealer that was
not functioning very well. DAF proposed that we should take up this dealership
and that is how we started with our activities in this country.”
By setting up a dealership, what were the problems that you faced?
MK: “We took over the location of our predecessor; a dealer that was not
very well organized. After we arranged the location, the next step was to find
the right people. We were very glad that part of the previous staff wanted to
stay with us. However, the problem was where to find a qualified managing
director for our Polish business. We had some specific demands for his profile.
We wanted a Pole who knew enough about the truck business. However, we
also wanted somebody who was oriented to Western Europe, when it comes
to directing the company. That was difficult and it took us a long time to find
Marek Ostojak. Unfortunately, he couldn’t start on 1st January. However, since
April last year, Marek is the Managing Director for all our activities in Poland.”
It is the first foreign activity of the TB Group. Did it work out
as you planned?
MK: “Yes it did, even more than we expected. However, we did bump into Polish
bureaucracy. I must say that I haven’t signed so many countless documents
in my entire career, compared to the period that we established the company.
I think one is always alert that things might fall short, but I consider our first
year in Poland as very successful. This was due to a very good preparation
from our side. We have made a very thorough business plan, consulted banks,
institutions, and so on and so on. Therefore, we knew what we were up to
But I have to be realistic and say that we also profited from a huge expansion
in truck sales in the overall market over the past year.”
And how much did this growing demand in the market account for your
success in the first year?
MK: “I think that half of our success depended on this factor. In our business
plan, we aimed at a sales target of 400 trucks, which we would sell and deliver
to our clients. However, we finished the year 2007 with an order board of 1,300
trucks of which we delivered 850. Therefore, this is more than double the
amount that we planned. This is a good indicator that we have done a really
good job in our first year.”
We are now halfway through the next year. How did you continue after this
first success?
Marek Ostojak (MO): “The past year we have experienced a tremendous
demand for trucks and that took us by surprise. This year is getting more
challenging and much more will depend on our management capabilities.
I want to put more time and energy in additional services that we as TB Truck
and Trailer Serwis provide. For instance, we can supply spare parts of other
brands of trucks. We also want to sell more specialized trucks, like fire-trucks
and tow- and tank-trucks. This is a very interesting market. Polish companies
used to buy these vehicles only second hand. This has changed due to EUfunding and now companies and local governments have the budget to buy
these types of trucks new. TB Trucks can provide the clients with a DAF chassis
and finish it completely to the customer’s demands.”
Bulletin
20
MK: “I think there is still a distinction in professionalism between transport
companies of the two countries. Dutch transport companies calculate much
better on how many trucks they will have to replace. They really sit down, analyze
the figures, and calculate if they are still able to drive another half year with
a truck. Their administration on the rolling stock is calculated in decimal places.
Given the current situation and the small margins, this is a necessity. Looking
at the Polish businessman, I think they have overestimated the possibilities in
the market. With a growing economic market, they were willing to invest without
really calculating the consequences of buying a truck. They see the lease rates
and don’t count the additional costs and in that sense, they are a little too
wild and do not have the long experience in changing economic environment.
I really think that the average Polish businessman doesn’t know enough what
his costs are per km. Another example is the choices the Poles make on their
repair and maintenances of the trucks. The Poles still thinks that it is cheaper
to repair and maintain the trucks themselves. However, they forget that in doing
so, you have to send your staff out to shops to buy spare parts, which in itself
costs a lot of time. Therefore, I think it is fair to say that there is a lack of focus
and professionalism in the market. And because their market position is under
pressure, the Poles still have to catch up with their calculations in order to hang
on to their current position in the market.”
MO: “We are considering how we can help our clients with that and provide
some extra added value in the process of a client. For instance, we want
to organize a seminar on the benefits of repair and maintenance contracts. The
benefits of this really need to be explained before the Polish companies pick
this up. Nevertheless, I think that Polish businessmen are more eager to learn
from us when we provide them with this information.”
Are there any plans to expand the reach TB Trucks has in the
Mazowieckie area?
MK: “We are not planning to expand the reach, but we want to improve the
coverage of our region. We already have a dealership in Warsaw and a second
one in Łódź. Two months ago we bought 30,000 sqm of ground in Biała
Podlaska where we want to start with a new Service and Sales dealer in March
2009. After that, we want to develop the Northern part of Warsaw and we are
currently looking for a location. After that, we want to develop in the area of
Płock, because of its central location. And I don’t rule out the possibility that
we will be developing in the future in the area of Radom and Siedlce.”
And does TB Trucks have any ambitions to expand further to the east?
MK: “There are reports that forecast if the market in Russia is mature there will
be a replacement market of 150,000 trucks on a yearly base. Therefore, Russia
is a very attractive market. Ukraine is also interesting for us, but we first want
to develop our business here in Poland. When it comes to dealers, the area
of central Europe has been covered quite well. But further to the east, we expect
that DAF needs professional partners to cooperate with their expansion. And
we are more than willing to help DAF with that.”
Contact details
Marek Ostojak, Managing Director
TB Trucks and Trailer Serwis Sp. z.o.o.
Office: +48(0)224589591
Mobile: +48(0)605957000
Email: [email protected]
Internet: www.tb.eu
The history of the TB Group
In 1934, Mr. Van Tilburg and Mrs. Bastianen took over
a small garage operation in the centre of Breda. In 1947,
after the Second World War, they acquired their Volkswagen
dealership. Not only the demand for cars grew, but also the
demand for commercial goods vehicles. A separate company
was then set up which focused on providing comprehensive
services for commercial vehicles, in particular for DAF
vehicles (having been a DAF dealer since 1950). The TB
Group acquired its Audi dealership in the 1970s, and in 2007
added the DAF dealership in Poland to its list of activities.
The company has developed from a small garage operation
into a flexible, innovative, and leading organization with six
branches, all of which offer the highest standards of motor
vehicle service. TB Group shares are in the hands of the
Bastianen family. In the intervening period, the TB Group has
developed into a leading international company in the motor
vehicle and truck sectors. The TB Group’s interests extend
well beyond purely financial interests. For this reason, the TB
Group shapes its business by striving towards a balanced
regard for ‘people’, ‘planet’ and ‘profit’, in other words
through ‘Socially Responsible Enterprise’.
Bulletin
21
DHV POLSKA
Consultancy and Engineering
An independent consultancy and engineering design company in Poland
(a member of FIDIC)
Being part of the DHV Group
Has been providing services for public and private clients in the following elds:
- transport and infrastructure;
- water and environmental protection;
- building and industry.
Career tracker
Career tracker Career tracker Career tracker
Dirk-Jan de Groot
The scope of services rendered by DHV POLSKA covers the following items: design
services in all stages of engineering, i.e.: studies, conceptual design study, basic
designs, nal designs; management and supervision of construction investments
(including international projects using FIDIC conditions of contract); execution of
economic analyses and feasibility studies; elaboration of technical and technological
specications; preparation of tender documents as per the requirements of
International Financing Institutions (Phare/ISPA, World Bank, EIB, EBRD), public
administration and commercial companies; preparation of environmental impact
assessments; provision of expert opinions and independent advice; technical
assistance to clients regarding procurement and tender organization.
As of July 1, 2008, Dirk-Jan de Groot (32) began working in the Polish
Philips organisation as senior marketing manager responsible for the
Business Unit Shaving & Beauty. In this role, he is responsible for defining,
executing, and reviewing the marketing strategy and planning for products
like men’s shavers, men’s grooming products, female hair removal
products, hair care products and products for tanning. In his previous
position, Dirk-Jan worked in the headquarters of Philips in Amsterdam as
global product manager. Dirk-Jan is very happy with this new challenge in
Poland, and looks forward to explore the country and all its riches. In his
spare time, he enjoys sports like field hockey, golf, squash, skiing, scuba
diving, and sailing.
Ronald de Romph
Ronald de Romph has been appointed as the head of the technical office
for Ghelamco in Warsaw, for the Warsaw Spire - Chopin Tower project.
Ghelamco develops offices and houses and is the largest office developer
in Poland. Ghelamco’s new flagship development is the Warsaw Spire
in the city centre.
This project consists of a five storey underground parking for approximately
2,500 cars, two 55 metre high office buildings, an office tower of 220
metres high, and a residential tower of 160 metres high. The total surface
of the building is 285,000 sqm. The execution of this project will start at the
beginning of 2009. Ronald worked for the last 10 years in Amsterdam where
he was involved in one of the largest building projects in the Netherlands.
DHV POLSKA Sp. z o.o.
41 Domaniewska Street
02-672 Warsaw, POLAND
tel. + 48 22 606 28 02
fax + 48 22 606 28 03
e-mail: [email protected]
www.dhv.pl
DHV POLSKA offers its customers the
highest class consultants, experts, specialists
and designers from various disciplines.
Gateway to solutions
Walter van Ditmars
Walter van Ditmars has been appointed to the Embassy of the Kingdom
of the Netherlands in Warsaw as the new deputy head of the Economic
Department. In this position, Van Ditmars is responsible for economic
and commercial relations between Poland and the Netherlands and more
specifically, he deals with sectors like energy, environment, infrastructure
and water management. Since mid-July, he is the successor of Joanne
Doornewaard who held the position for four years. However, Van Ditmars
has been already in Poland since last October in order to develop new
networks and was posted for four months at the Polish Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. The Dutch Embassy is very active in supporting and organising
seminars, missions, study visits and exhibitions in cooperation with (Dutch)
companies, Dutch and Polish ministries, as well as in the framework of
Memoranda of Understanding, which have been concluded between
the ministries of both countries. Every year a number of market surveys
are being made by the economic department of the embassy for Dutch
companies looking for opportunities on the Polish market. Van Ditmars
comes from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, where he has been
dealing with regional policy, relations with countries of Central and Eastern
Europe, Common Social Responsibility (CSR) regarding international
operating companies, and EU affairs.
Robert Niczyporuk
Akinkayode Robert Phillips
The partners of DZP are pleased to announce the appointment of two
new partners: Robert Niczyporuk and Akinkayode Robert Phillips. They
have both worked since 2002 in DZP which now forms a team of over
140 lawyers including 21 partners at Poland’s largest law firm. Niczyporuk
specialises in mergers and acquisitions, company restructuring (both
tax and legal aspects), securities trading and capital market operations.
Phillips advises on business law, specialising in corporate advisory in the
form of complex legal due diligences of business entities for merger and
take-over purposes.
Arno Ruijtenbeek
Arno Ruijtenbeek (47) has been appointed as chairman of the management
board of Tebodin SAP-Projekt. Ruijtenbeek has been working for Tebodin
since 2006 as office director of Tebodin Hengelo in The Netherlands.
Before joining Tebodin, Ruijtenbeek has worked in the Netherlands for the
AVR, in different managerial positions with the latest position as Director of
Industrial Waste. In 2004, he started his own management and consultancy
firm and worked for a various number of multinationals. Ruijtenbeek
is married and has two children.
Tebodin SAP-Projekt is currently the leading consulting and engineering
company in Poland that employs over 400 engineers in Warsaw and in its
seven branch offices located in Kraków, Katowice, Wrocław, Poznań, Łódź,
Szczecin and Gdańsk.
Ben van de Vrie
Ben van de Vrie has assumed the position of the European Head of Mid
Corporate Banking. Ben has been working for ING Bank Śląski since
August 1, 2004. Van de Vrie has been a board member of the Netherlands
- Polish Chamber of Commerce between 2005 and 2007.
Małgorzata Kołakowska
Michał Bolesławski
Effective as of July 1, 2008, Małgorzata Kołakowska has been appointed
as executive vice-president of the management board in charge of the
Strategic Clients and Financial Markets. From 1993 to 1996, she was
working for ING Bank N.V., Warsaw Branch. She was CFO at McDonald’s
Poland and director for Poland & Baltic countries of the European Bank of
Reconstruction and Development. In October 2006, she returned to ING
Bank Śląski. Michał Bolesławski was appointed executive vice-president of
the Management Board in charge of the corporate sales network division,
serving mid corporate clients and small and medium sized enterprises.
Michał Bolesławski has been connected to ING since September 2001.
Bulletin
23
Possibilities
Questions
of the Special Economic Zones
& Answers
Column by Paweł Wojciechowski
This page answers to questions most frequently asked to the Netherlands - Polish Chamber of
commerce, and features a few hints for doing business in Poland.
displaying an unflagging interest in the SEZ-connected opportunities. Similarly,
local authorities expected new regulations making it possible whether to
enlarge existing zones or create new ones. The persistent interest on the
part of both the local self-governments and prospective investors, made the
inclusion of new land in the existing Polish SEZ indispensable. In July 2008,
a new amendment to the SEZ Act took effect. At the moment, the amendment
makes it possible to enlarge the Polish SEZ jointly from the current 12 thousand
hectares up to 20 thousand hectares or create new zones.
The possibility of the SEZs expansion, contributes to the country’s capability
of attracting direct foreign investment. An unceasing interest can be observed
due to an array of business incentives and well prepared investment land
offered by the zones. Among other attracting enticements for investors, there
are exemptions from Corporate Income Tax (CIT), real estate tax (selected
communes), and free of charge assistance in completing investment related
formalities.
President of the Board of the Polish Information and
Foreign Investment Agency
I also positively assess the possibility of making the Agricultural Property
Agency’s (APA) reserves and private land, after fulfilling all the required criteria,
available for use in the enlargement process.
The new Act extends also the potential of the PAIiIZ’s cooperation with the
Polish SEZs that would consist in promoting exceptionally attractive investment
land as well as in informing about the overall SEZs activity. New regulations
make new investments conditional on fulfilling one of the major criteria
e.g. a creation of a certain number of workplaces, the innovative elements of
the undertaking or, a matter that has been a standard issue thus far, on the
investment value i.e. a minimum of one hundred thousand EUR. The criteria
are to be strictly customised to a given region’s needs, which in turn, will make
the SEZ more effective in propping up the region’s economic development, in
reducing unemployment and in supporting the competitiveness of the Polish
economy.
You can take advantage of the programme 1.2. Support for Small and Medium
size companies. The expense for the plot one can rate as a qualified cost
provided that:
• cost of purchase is not higher than the market price
• the property is only used according to the co-financed agreement
• the property is necessary for implementation of the project
• subsidisation for small and medium size companies is 50%.
Q
Which factors have to be fulfilled by the company
to be ranged as a small or a medium sized?
1)Micro company is an enterprise that: employs less than 10 people;
aggregate year sales do not exceed 2 mln EUR; balance sheet does not
exceed 2 mln EUR.
2)Small company is an enterprise that: employs less than 50 people;
exceed 10 mln EUR.
3)Medium company is an enterprise that: employs less than 250 people;
exceed 43 mln EUR.
Q
I am interested in information about structural funds,
where can I find it ?
Basic manual for entities interested in structural funds is available at:
www.funduszestrukturalne.gov.pl/english/
Other sources are: www.europa.eu.int - EU Internet portal, www.ukie.gov.pl
- Internet portal of the Office of Committee for European Integration,
www.cie.gov.pl - European Information Centre (Polish only), www.mpips.gov.pl
/english/ - Economy and Labour Ministry, www.mos.gov.pl/index_main.shtmlMinistry of the Environment (Environment Information Centre), www.mnii.gov.pl
- Ministry of Scientific Research and Information Technology, www.minrol.gov.pl
/DesktopDefault.aspx - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,
www.mi.gov.pl/en/ - Infrastructure Ministry, www.parp.gov.pl - Polish Agency for
Enterprise Development, www.nfosigw.gov.pl/site/index_en.php - The National
Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, Marshal’s Offices,
Voivodship Offices, regional financing agencies, advisory and consultancy outlets,
www.zporr.gov.pl - IRDOP program (Polish only), www.konkurencyjnosc.gov.pl
- SOP-ICE (Polish only), www.efs.gov.pl (Polish only), www.pap.com.pl - Polish
Press Agency, www.gazeta.pl.ue - Gazeta Wyborcza Internet portal.
Proven to be the best!
The Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency closes the record sixmonth PAIiIZ’s performance for the first half of 2008 with 31 completed projects
worth 1 billion EUR. Seven and a half thousand new workplaces are to be
created as a result of the investment programmes. One third of the investments
are to be carried out in the special economic zones, which thanks to the recently
passed amendment to the SEZ Act may now expand in size.
Over the last years, the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) have been doing very
well and achieving ever better results in terms of both investments’ volume and
the number of newly created workplaces.
According to the latest report on the Polish SEZs, published by the Ministry
of Economy in 2007, within the area of the 14 Polish SEZs investments worth
10 billion PLN were initiated and completed with 36 thousand workplaces
resulting from the investment projects. The highest rise in employment
rates could be noted in the Łódź, the Kamienna Góra and the Pomorska
Special Economic Zones. In the first six months of 2008, the SEZs issued
99 new business activity permits forecasting investment of a joint value of
6.7 billion PLN.
Until recently, the majority of the Polish SEZs’ land seemed to have been
taken and almost entirely distributed. At the same time, investors continued
Q
I represent a small company and I want to buy
a plot. Can the costs related to buying a plot be
considered eligible?
Leading car-fleet management
provider in Poland
Full Service Operational Leasing
– for every size car fleet
• Tailor-made solutions for optimal costs
• Complete package of services: maintenance,
tyres, substitute cars, insurance,
road assistance, fuel cards
• Effective car-fleet management with advanced
reporting
The Special Economic Zones in Poland
Bulletin
24
Business Lease Poland Sp. z o.o., ul. Marcina Flisa 4, 02-247 Warsaw,
Phone: +48 0 22 577 41 00, Fax: +48 0 22 577 41 01
E-mail: [email protected], www.businesslease.pl
The Netherlands - Polish Chamber of Commerce
invites new members
Annual Report
of the Chamber
On May 6, the Annual General Meeting of the Netherlands -Polish
Chamber of Commerce took place. After opening, we held a moment
of silence in memory of our Board member Ed de Koninck,
who passed away unexpectedly on September 7, 2007.
CEF International
HRIB
Central European Finance International Ltd. has been specializing in the
international debt recoveries since 1992. CEF have been collecting debts on
behalf of exporters and insurers from all over the world.
We work solely on the success fee basis. We operate in many countries of the
world the list of which you may, please, find on www.cef.com.pl
We will be happy to cooperate with you in order to solve your problems.
HRIB is dynamical, Dutch consultancy company, with activities both in the
Netherlands and in Poland. Established in the year 2005, HRIB offers the
following services in real estate and building industry:
process management, project management and feasibility studies. Since 2005
in Poland we have proven experience in coaching and controlling Polish projects
from a client or investor point of view. Focus on people, time, costs and quality
is one of our most important characteristics. Our flexibility, knowledge of Polish
real estate and building market, together with Dutch way of working guarantee
the client high quality service.
CEF International Ltd.
HRIB
ul. Miodowa 12/11
00-251 Warsaw
Tel: +48 22 636 09 41
Fax: +48 22 635 83 16
www.cef.com.pl
[email protected]
Postbus 307
7600 AH Almelo, The Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0) 6 19860609
Fax:+31 (0) 842 206621
www.hrib.nl
[email protected]
After this, the Treasurer presented the financial report for 2007.
After some questions were answered, the report was accepted
with no votes against. The Chairman gained positive reactions
on his request for nominating a financial audit committee. Paweł
Mlicki and Anton van der Wardt will take seats in this committee.
Then we went through some of the events that were organised
by the Chamber in the last year, often in cooperation with other
Chambers. This has two reasons: we are not sure nowadays how
many people from our Chamber will show up, after they made
their subscription to join an activity. By cooperating with other
Chambers, we avoid the problem of a lack of participants, which
is always a disappointment for the speaker or organiser of the
event. Also for the rest of 2008, we have a number of activities in
our calendar. Recently we created together with the Nederlandse
Vereniging, the Dutch Embassy, and Punt NL, the possibility to
watch the European Championship Matches of Holland on a big
screen in a Dutch environment together with other nationalities.
In the Board, we had two vacancies to fulfil and two Board members’
term ended. Newly elected to the Board were Remco van der Kroft,
Partner at the law firm Domański Zakrzewski Palinka and Eric van
Vliet, CEO of Athlon Car Lease Polska. Both new members, each
with their specific experience, are a welcome strengthening of the
team. Re-elected were Bob Kruijsse and Fred Hoogerbrug.
During the next point in the agenda, the Chairman announced that
the ways of the Chamber and Providentia Invest, who has been
executing the operations for the Chamber for many years, will
separate on the September 1, 2008. Marcel Boer, Board member
of Providentia Invest, created many new activities in his firm and
felt that the time was there to concentrate fully on those (new)
activities. We owe Marcel and his team many thanks.
After this last subject, the meeting was closed and the people
present went to the monthly business drink. During the first Board
meeting after the Annual General Meeting the Board split the tasks
among them.
As normal, a representative of the Dutch Embassy will be present
during the board meetings to keep the communication between
the Embassy and the Chamber on a high level.
Fred Hoogerbrug,
Chairman of the Netherlands - Polish Chamber of Commerce.
The board members of the Netherlands - Polish
Chamber of Commerce will have the following tasks:
Fred Hoogerbrug
Chairman
Michel Zuidgeest
Secretary and Vice Chairman
Camiel van der Meij
Treasurer
Maarten Goslings
Member
will concentrate on events and members communication
Remco van der Kroft
Member
will concentrate on IGCC
(the International Group of Chambers of Commerce)
Eric van Vliet
Member
will take the lead in sponsoring and new members acquisition
Bob Kruijsse
Member
will take care of a smooth takeover of the functions, formally fulfilled
by him by the new members and will use his experience where needed
Bulletin
27
Introducing the new board member
Introducing the new board member
This article presents Remco van der Kroft, a Partner in the law firm Domański Zakrzewski Palinka (DZP),
who advises both foreign investors operating in Poland and Polish companies looking to expand to
the Netherlands. His main areas of interest are real estate and mergers & acquisitions.
Eric van Vliet is the managing director of Athlon Car Lease Polska. Prior to this, he worked for Lucent
Technologies and was the general director of Business Lease Poland.
Remco van der Kroft
Can you tell us something about your work as a partner?
“In DZP, my main specialisations are real estate law and M&A. In addition,
in many cases I am the logical contact person for Dutch clients. I also
support many Polish companies with legal issues abroad, not only in the
Netherlands.”
Eric van Vliet
that the Chamber has to do things that are interesting for Polish management
in Dutch companies. Also, I think that the Chamber needs to cooperate more
with other Dutch representations of the Netherlands in Poland, which are the
Dutch Embassy, the informal Dutch business group in Poznań, the Dutch
business community in Kraków and the business community in the Tri-City.
I would also like to see a closer cooperation with the Nederlandse Vereniging,
the Dutch Society and to open these events for the Polish business community
to share the Dutch party occasions with the Polish business community. One
of the first things that the new board did was that we agreed with Marcel Boer
of Providentia Invest, who was running the Chamber for the past ten years, that
we would terminate that cooperation and that we would try to create another
way to run the Chamber with a more active board. It looks like we also found
a very capable new director for the Chamber.”
What will the members notice of the changes?
What will the members notice of this new structure of the Chamber?
In your opinion, should the Chamber change something about the
breakfast sessions and the monthly business drink?
“I hope not too much in the sense that we will continue to organise events as
we have done in the past years. What we won’t be doing anymore, and that
is why we have terminated the contract with Providentia Invest, is providing
hands-on support to newcomers. I think that the Chamber should be there for
Dutch companies in Poland and as far as newcomers are concerned restrict
itself to providing useful contacts. I think that the board will become more active
and that they themselves through their network will attract interesting speakers
and maybe some of the board members will speak themselves. The transfer of
the Chamber from Providentia Invest will take place later this year and until that
time, the board is brainstorming how to make the Chamber more vibrant. Apart
from the monthly business drinks, I think what we need to do is to organise
more high profile networking meetings like dinners and lunches. Again, this
is something that is not set in stone yet. I would like to have a series of meetings
with Polish managers from Dutch companies. We are also looking what other
Chambers are doing to be attractive for their members.”
What will be your task in the new board?
How long have you been in Poland?
“At the end of 2004 I came to Poland to take up the position of board member
in a French shopping centre development and management company in Warsaw.
The first time I came to work in Poland was in 1992 when I worked for a French
law firm. I left in 1995 and as said came back a little over three years ago.”
Why did you join the board of the Chamber?
“I will take the responsibility of representing the Netherlands - Polish Chamber
of Commerce in the International Group of Chambers of Commerce (IGCC).
The Chamber is an active member of this organisation and the contacts with
the other chambers have been so far coordinated very well by Bob Kruijsse,
who for the past nine months fulfilled the function of president of the IGCC.
However, apart from that, we are also talking to other chambers to organise
bilateral meetings. These meetings will make it more attractive for Polish
counterparts to show up, and are therefore very important events for the
Netherlands - Polish Chamber of Commerce.”
“The reason that I joined the board of the Chamber is that I believe that there is
still a role to play for the Chamber, but I also believe that after 10 years of activity
the Chamber needed a change, a new approach to make it more attractive in
the current Poland. Ten years ago when the Chamber was founded, there was
a big need for first line assistance. Today Poland is part of the European Union
and also a lot of Dutch companies do not have Dutch management anymore.
This means that the Chamber needs to adapt. Firstly, I think that the Chamber
has to become attractive for all Dutch companies in Poland, which also means
Bulletin
28
“I think that it is very important that we as Dutch companies intensify our
network. I also think that we should help each other with business and that
we should assign more business to Dutch companies. It is strange to see
that in football, we are very chauvinistic, but when it comes to business, we
are not. You can see this with the French or the German companies. They all
assign business to each other. For instance, I don’t get any car leased from
a French company, because they all go to their French leasing companies. And
that goes the same for other nationalities in Poland; they are all very strongly
connected to companies of their own country. We are not very good in this.
We would rather give business to a German or an English company instead
of a Dutch firm, which can offer a product or a service for the same value.”
Can you tell us something about the company that you are working for?
“Athlon Car Lease Polska is the Polish subsidiary of Athlon Car Lease
International, an international provider of operational full-service car leasing
and fleet management.
Athlon is currently active in eight countries: the Netherlands, Belgium,
Luxembourg, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Poland with more than
200,000 cars leased. It is also a founding member of Fleet Synergy International
(FSI) and via FSI active in another 35 countries. The company is 100 percent
Dutch and fully owned by De Lage Landen International, which is part of the
Rabobank.”
“I think that we should organise this kind of meetings for our members more
often. The business mixer, organized once a month, is an important factor
in bringing businesses together. It worked like that for me, and there are more
companies that are conducting good business in this way. The more people
attend the business mixer, the better it is for doing business. Besides this, we
need to organise more seminars for our members. The topics for the seminars
can be requested by the members, for instance on the taxation law in Poland
or problems concerning human resources. I find that breakfast sessions are
very popular . They enable us to give our opinion to members of the government
in Poland, so I think we should continue with that as well. Apart from that, I think
it is important that we keep representing Dutch companies in the International
Group of Chambers of Commerce (IGCC). This organisation represents more
than 1 million workers in Poland, and through this organisation you can have
quite some influence on what the government plans to do. So I think it is one
of the key issues of the board to take part in the IGCC.”
What is your opinion on the recently elected board of the Chamber?
“I think that it is good to have a board with fresh members. There were some
complaints from members about the Chamber that it was too laid back and not
active enough. In the past the Netherlands – Polish Chamber of Commerce
has fulfilled too much the role of a helpdesk for new companies and was not
enough focused on helping their own members. The new board can help
to provide new impetus for the Chamber. I also think that it is important to
mention that the board has decided to coordinate all the Chamber’s activities
by itself, and therefore, we will not outsource this work anymore to Providentia
Invest. The new board will also define a value proposition. By doing so, we will
re-position the Chamber and give it a new appeal, which is necessary
to persuade new companies to become members.”
Bulletin
29
Athlon Car Lease
Thoughts of parting executive director
Marcel Boer
offers on the Polish
market a unique tool
which allows you for
an on-line quotation
of all car brands and
an access to eet
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After eight years, Marcel Boer of Providentia Invest will step down as the executive director and
contractor of the Netherlands - Polish Chamber of Commerce. To Boer this comes as a logical step
under the current situation where companies have different expectations from an organisation like the
Chamber. “The Netherlands - Polish Chamber of Commerce will transform into a business club that
can do with a smaller back office”.
future. The high prices also have had an impact on all kinds
of financial structures. What you see is that people have
compensated the higher prices by taking more consumer credits.
This, combined with the strong currency, will limit the spending
power of the Poles in the years to come.”
What will the members of the Chamber notice from this
situation?
“The focus will be more on the relations and the representation”, says Marcel Boer
How did you become involved in the work for the Chamber?
“I started working for the Chamber after the organisation had
already been established for a few years. The Chamber was not
well located and the board had different expectations from the
executive director. In 1998, I took over the Chamber and contracted
two employees. In that time, we did a lot of preliminary work. We
helped entrepreneurs and wrote reports for the Embassy on all
kinds of topics. Over the years, there has been a huge change
in Poland. It has been much easier for entrepreneurs to set up
a company, and a lot of information is digital available with many
more people speaking English.”
Is it still necessary to have a Chamber in Poland?
“You can say that the old style Chamber had its prime time in 1997.
Now there is more need for a kind of business club organisation,
and this is also the direction that the present board is currently
steering towards. The focus will be more on the relations and the
representation of Dutch businesses in Poland.”
“The Dutch companies will feel the consequences on the labour
market. There is a very low supply and a lot of mismatch in respect
to the labour that still is available, and there is no strategy from
this government to do something with this problem. I personally
see that a lot of our members have problems with obtaining
their staff.”
Do you also have any possible outlooks on Poland?
“What I see is that the administrative burden is lighter than five
years ago. Getting all the connections in place, things like that,
so that is a positive development. There are still a lot of companies
that invest in Poland. But I think that they do this because they have
no other option in the region. If you look at the Baltic countries,
they are too small and have big financial problems, and have no
people available. In Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia there
is no room for new businesses anymore. There are no free people,
no free places, nothing. Romania and Bulgaria, although being EU
countries they are considered to have a higher risk for investors
than Poland. So actually, the only country in the region with
possibilities and a normal risk environment is Poland. You already
see a lot of companies go to Ukraine, so the question is how long
this will last.”
The better
solution
•
What can you say to the members of the Chamber?
Looking at the economical situation of Poland. How interesting
is this country from an investors’ point of view?
“I think that a lot of investors are overlooking how fast the prices
are rising in Poland. This cannot continue in this way. I already
consider Poland an expensive country. There is a difference of
30 to 40 percent compared to the prices just a few years ago. Next
to that, given the present rate of the złoty towards the euro, this
causes very serious problems for companies to export. Although
existing contracts do go on, it will have a knock-on effect in the
“I have good contacts with a lot of the members. I have seen
a lot of them become very successful in Poland, mainly because
of their hard work. They took the risk, so therefore they deserve the
success. I sense a lot of good spirit and entrepreneurship among
our members. I think that for other companies it can be very
beneficial to become a member because they can learn from that.
I foresee a good future for Dutch entrepreneurs and the Chamber
in Polish society. The Dutch and the Poles have already kept good
relations for more than 500 years and I see no reason why this
should change.”
Bulletin
30
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Eureko Randstad becomes - Netherlands

Transcription

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