NORDIC CHAMBER eNEWSLETTER

NORDIC CHAMBER eNEWSLETTER
CZECH JOB VACANCIES SKYROCKETING
OCTOBER 2015
A
fter several months of preparations
the Nordic Chamber in September
launched a new and modernized website.
In addition to fresh design and increased
user-friendliness, partnership services and a
host of useful links have been added. “The
reactions from our members have so far
been roundly positive, both concerning the
graphics and the functionality of the new
website,” Executive Director Lea Turcarová
says. During the last weeks, the number of
pages visited by individual users has increased from 3 to 4,55; the duration of each
visit has grown from 3 to 4 minutes and we
have also noticed a 50% of new visits since
the launch on September 17.
(TBE)
T
he Danish beer company Carlsberg,
which distributes the popular Czech
and personnel services market. From a
modest background as a small personnel
agency, DRILL has grown to a company with s 60 employees and 50 external
collaborators, with headquarters in the
beautiful premises of the Czech Science Academy in the centre of Prague.
The company provides complex human resources management services;
DRILL currently takes care of over
600 customers from all industrial segments in the Czech Republic and abroad.
(Drill)
C
zech job vacancies have passed
100,000 for the first time since 2008,
as many companies struggle to find
enough qualified staff in a bustling economy with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe. The export-heavy
economy grew by 4.4 percent year-onyear in the second quarter, thanks to rising orders and strong household demand,
along with an inflow of EU development
subsidies. “We are growing like crazy but
we could grow even more if we didn’t
have 100,000 free jobs that employers
are not able to fill with the right people,”
said Radek Špicar of the Czech Industry
Confederatio
(EU Active)
L
EGO’s production facility in KladStaropramen brew in Sweden, in mid-Sepno, which is one of the Danish toy
tember recalled all Staropramen beer on tap
from 680 Swedish bars and restaurants. The giant’s four manufacturing sites around
move came after two people tasted the beer the world, has announced yet another
and suffered blisters and mouth bleeding as enlargement. After increasing the numa result. Staropramen has deeply regretted
the incident which was a result of two beer
kegs being contaminated by a corrosive
cleaning substance. Carlsberg spokesman
Henric Byström said Carlsberg has carefully examining all Staropramen kegs delivered to Sweden and has not found any more
(CRo)
contaminated beer.
N
ordic Chamber member DRILL is
this month celebrating its ten-year
anniversary in the Czech consultancy
SKANSKA CAMPAIGN DRAW ATTENTION
PRAGUE (VAN) – Skanska is drawing much attention with its new “Home,
at last” campaign, which presents the company’s residential projects. “The
message that we are trying to get across is that we don’t build just square
metres, we build the place where you will feel at home,” Skanska’s Veronika Vanišová says. The campaign has combined print, outdoor and on-line
media, with the main emphasis being put on video and social media. The
key message is communicated through simple icons presenting Skanska
solutions for ideal living, which includes enough storage room, green solutions, children’s playgrounds and even a washroom for bikes and pets.
ber of employees in its packaging part
to 2,000 this spring, the company has
now started looking for 50 new employees to its model building department. “This is a very creative, but also
very demanding work,” Morten Hyldebjerg Hansen, Development Director at
LEGO Production Kladno, comments.
“The successful candidates must have
a three-dimensional imagination, and
also know the bricks’ physical quality.”
(LEGO)
MEET OUR MEMBER
Nokian Tyres, headquartered in Nokia, Finland, started with passenger car tyres pro-
duction in 1932 and the world’s first winter
tyre produced in 1934. Our company operates in many key countries in Central Europe, North America, Russia and the Nordic
countries; net sales in 2014 exceeded EUR
1.4 billion. Nokian Tyres’ plant in Russia
and Finland have an annual capacity of 20
million tyres. With expanding legislation
regulating winter tyres, the company is
operating in a growing industry with more
than 4,000 employees. Besides passenger
car tyres, Nokian Tyres also produces truck
and heavy machinery tyres. Thanks to many
years of experience in the development of
tyres we are able to offer our customers the
world´s safest and best-quality tyres. More
info at www.nokiantyres.com
Lukáš Líbal
Marketing Manager CE
GREAT BUSINESS MIXER AT MASERATI
JAMES ARMSTRONG NEW SCANIA BOSS
PRAGUE (KOU) – James Armstrong has replaced Peter Hornig as general
manager of the Swedish truch manufacturer Scania in the Czech Republic,
Slovakia and Hungary. Mr Armstrong joined Scania in 2005 as director of
aftersales services in the UK; he comes to Prague from the job as Scania’s general manager for south-east Asia, based in Malaysia. “I know that
Central Europe is a very dynamic market. [like Malaysia] also this position
covers several countries, which both represents a challenge and more opportunities. Besides that, Prague seems to me as a fantastic place to live,“
James Armstrong comments.
NORDIC CHAMBER eNEWSLETTER
ČEZ EYES VATTENFALL’S GERMAN PLANTS
OCTOBER 2015
D
uring a “civil society summit” at his missioner Elzbieta Biekowska said that reofficial residence Denmark’s Prime moving trade barriers between the EU and
Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Lib- Iceland is a bold step forward; it means busieral Party) has signed agreements with ness opportunities for the EU’s food manufive of the country’s largest companies facturers and more choice and competitive
to provide traineeships to refugees com- price for consumers, both in Iceland and in
ing to the country. IKEA, Dansk Super- the EU.
(Icenews)
marked, ISS, Bella Centre and NCC are
innish construction company YIT
among the first companies to offer practical internships to asylum-seekers, and
has started the first of five stages of
others are planning to follow. According construction for a major area developto Løkke, it’s crucial that refugees have ment project in Bratislava. Altogether
something meaningful to do and eventually be able to support themselves. Løkke
is urging more companies to join the initiative; more info at the Danish Employment Ministry’s website. F
I
celand has decided to drop import duty
on EU farm produce. The recently
signed agreement includes more than 90
percent of agricultural goods, such as
poultry, milk and meat, arriving in Iceland
from the continent; the agricultural trade
between the EU and Iceland is worth ca. more than 400 apartments and almost 30
EUR 236 annually. Internal Market Com- commercial premises are to be constructed as part of the STEIN2 project by 2020.
The total value of the 1.7-hectare development is more than EUR 70 million.
Situated at the outskirts of the Old Town
of Bratislava, construction is taking place
in the area that formerly housed the Stein
brewery. In addition to apartment buildings and commercial premises, new infrastructure, green areas and squares for
(YLE)
public use are planned.
sale in 2015. Potential investors could
include Czech energy groups ČEZ and
EPH, which have both said in the past
that they are interested in the assets. The
sale, which could fetch Vattenfall as
much as EUR 3.5 billion, includes 8,100
MW of lignite-fired plants as well as corresponding mining activities in eastern
Germany.
(Reuters)
N
orway has been ranked as number
one in Europe in the International Telecommunication Union’s latest
Global Cybersecurity Index. The project
is an annual attempt to measure the commitment of countries to cybersecurity.
Each country’s level of development is
analysed within five categories: Legal
Measures, Technical Measures, Organizational Measures, Capacity Building
and Cooperation.Based on the data from
country responses as well as secondary
data collected, the cyberwellness profiles
have been prepared. Norway was trailed
by Estonia, Germany and the UK. (E15)
S
wedish utility Vattenfall last week
asked potential bidders to express
their interest in the company’s German
lignite plants, which the group put up
for sale following large writedowns and
a radical shift in Berlin’s energy policy.
Vattenfall expects to complete the deal
next year, having originally aimed for a
General Partner of the Nordic Chamber of Commerce
THE KORUNA-CROWN-EURO INDEX
Euro
Danish kroner
Icelandic krónur
Norwegian kroner
Swedish kronor
CZECH-NORDIC TRADE KEEPS GROWING
End IX/2015
End VIII/2015
27,190 CZK
3,645 "
0,186 "
2,857 "
2,895 "
27,085 CZK
3,629 "
0,183 "
2,852 "
2,806 "
Source: ČNB
2014
Denmark
Finland
Iceland
Norway
Sweden
31 Oct.
Nov.
2015
58,795
30,621
2,759
25,837
83,534
*period august-july UPCOMING CHAMBER EVENTS
Date
8 Oct.
57,776
27,280
2,189
38,325
80,862
y/y
101.7
112.2
126
67.4
103.3
Source: ČSÚ
Event
FOK a concert with Pietari Inkinen and tenor Jose Cura
Venue
Obecní dům
Classical Concert Music Pearls of Scandinavia
Valdštejnský Palác
BB How to adapt for the new union customs code
hotel The Mark
For more details please see www.nordicchamber.cz/events. If you want more information about the Chamber’s activities please don’t hesitate to contact us at
[email protected] or telephone +420 774 123 370.