NL Chamber / Macedonia Newsletter 2013 no.03

newsletter SEPTEMBER 2013 c/o Netherlands Embassy

Leninova 69-71

1000 Skopje

Republic of Macedonia e: info@nlchamber.org.mk w: www.nlchamber.org.mk

fb.com/nlchamber

twitter.com/nlchamber linkedin.com/../nl-chamber youtube.com/user/nlchamber

NL Chamber was established in J足 anuary 2012 as official Dutch-Macedonian Chamber of Commerce by 50 Macedonian companies, according to the Macedo足nian Law on Chambers of Commerce.

One third of these companies is partly or fully Dutch owned.

Objective of NL Chamber is to promote and support successful business relations between Dutch and Macedonian companies.

events Deputy PM Stavreski meeting Dutch business community Dutch Business Meeting Stip Fashion Fair Modefabriek Amsterdam Visiting clients with Vima Fashion projects Netherlands Embassy: Customs and business climate network Initiatives for bilateral chambers in Albania and Bulgaria members Dutch Natuurgevelsteen exploring Macedonian quarries Dutch company bought Holmak Bitola Feydom sofas and lounge suites for the Dutch market service Market Scan statistics Internet usage short Webshopping/Strawberries/Toplocations/Agenda/Fairs click to read earlier editions!

online reading pdf download No. 2: issuu.com/.../nlchamber2013-02 bit.ly/NLC-02 No. 1: issuu.com/.../nlchamber2013-01 bit.ly/NLC-01 Sponsors of Foundation NL Chamber:

photo: NL Chamber

Dutch-Macedonian Chamber of Commerce

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newsletter no. 3 / September 2013

events

Deputy PM Stavreski meeting Dutch business community A delegation of the Macedonian government will meet with the Dutch business community at the Chamber of Commerce in Rotterdam and Greenport in Venlo.

opportunities and support Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Stavreski will address the Dutch business community on doing business in Macedonia and governmental support to ­ foreign investors. Minister of Foreign Investments Vele ­Samak will highlight the business opportunities and Invest Macedonia director Visar Fida will outline the services of the investment agency.

HaVeP and Holmak Finally, the Dutch companies Van Puijenbroek Textiel and Holmak HeatX BV will share their ­experiences. Van Puijen­ broek Textiel, also known as HaVeP and VPTex, recently finished the contruction of a “quick response” production facility for workwear in Mace­ donia. Holmak HeatX owns a factory in Bitola (see page 10).

Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia THE HAGUE

DOING BUSINESS IN MACEDONIA Monday, 25 November 2013 Kamer van Koophandel Rotterdam Blaak 40, 3011 TA Rotterdam 14h30 Registration 15h00 Welcome and Introduction

- representative of the Chamber of Commerce

- representative of the Dutch government

- Ambassador of Macedonia, Mr Nikola Dimitrov 15h15 Doing business in Macedonia

- Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Zoran Stavreski

- Minister of Foreign Investments, Mr Vele Samak

- Director Invest Macedonia, Mr Visar Fida 16h00 Dutch experiences in Macedonia

- Van Puijenbroek Textiel, Mr Winfried Rooswinkel

- Holmak HeatX, Mr Mark Lammers 16h30 Discussion, questions & answers 17h00 Meet & Greet, Macedonian wine 18h30 End please confirm your attendance no later than 20 November: vedat.rushid@investinmacedonia.com

supported by:

free registration Participation in the event is free of charge, but registration is highly appreciated: please confirm your attendance no later than 20 November by email to Mr Vedat Rushid, Economic Promoter of Macedonia in the Netherlands: vedat.rushid@ investinmacedonia.com

On Tuesday 26 November, the delegation will focus on agricultural opportunities at a forum at Greenport Venlo.

Promotional organization for the Top Sector Horticulture

www.dutchgamesassociation.nl

www.topsectortu.nl

Assocation Textile Industry

www.modint.nl

Federation Dutch Food Industry

www.fnli.nl

Agriculture branch organization

www.lto.nl

Association metal industry

www.metaalunie.nl

photo: Wikifrits

The Embassy of Macedonia in the Netherlands and Invest Macedonia organize a forum on doing business in Macedonia on Monday 25 November at the Chamber of Commerce in Rotterdam.

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newsletter no. 3 / September 2013

events

Dutch Business Meeting Stip Dutch and Macedonian businessmen gathered in Stip to get to know eachother and to exchange ideas and experience on doing business in Macedonia.

Karma Bella Co-owner and managing director Arno Scheid­mann of K ­ arma Bella BV once stated: “Almost every month I come to Macedonia for a ­couple of days. We discuss current business at our office in Stip, I visit a few subcontractors and that is it.” Karma Bella is a Dutch garment production service provider, mana­ ging outsourced production of mainly ladies’ wear through its subsidiary in Stip. no clue Scheid­ mann: “I know exactly what is going on in the Mace­ donian textile industry, but I have no clue what Macedonia has to offer out of my sector - let alone which other Dutch companies are active here.”

Holmak HeatX Managing Director Mark Lammers posting on LinkedIn

Similar statements are valid for all these frequent visitors, reason why NL Chamber grabbed the chance to introduce them to eachother and our resident members. business gathering right after landing On 23 September 2013, sixteen businessmen gathered at the office of Karma Bella in Stip, after which they had lunch at restaurant Mal Odmor.

It was Monday, in Macedonia a rather un­ usual day for such an event, but it very well suited the Dutch sense of always ­being practical: right after arri­val of the Wizzair flight from Eindhoven and located at or on the road to the final destination of those who came straight from the Netherlands.

Discussion on the challenges of doing business in Macedonia

challenges of doing business in Macedonia After everybody introduced themselves, Arno Scheidmann elaborated on the history and operations of Karma Bella that started in Macedonia in autumn 2002. The company ­ has another subsidiary in Poland and the Beumkes Group, a family business to which Karma Bella belongs, also opera­ tes a furniture factory in Bulgaria. Peter Verheyen, Deputy Head of Mission at the Nether­ lands Embassy, opened the discussion on mutual issues of doing business in Mace­ donia.

During lunch the discussions continued with the exchange of experiences, in particular on bureaucracy.

Continued discussion at lunch

photos, illustration: NL Chamber

No less than twelve companies, members of NL Chamber, have Dutch (co-)owners who do not live in Macedonia, but regularly travel back and forth. They highly value the network of NL Chamber as Mark Lammers, Managing Director of Holmak HeatX BV, said on business network LinkedIn: “Especially the support and co-operation between Dutch entrepreneurs is very valuable”.

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newsletter no. 3 / September 2013

events

Fashion Fair Modefabriek Amsterdam Vima Fashion from Kocani joined NL Chamber to the Fashion Fair Modefabriek in ­Amsterdam and organized a networking tour along its Dutch clients.

Like Dutch fashion industry association Modint suggested (page 6 in the previous newsletter: http://bit.ly/19xMcn1) NL Chamber organized a visit to the fashion fair Modefabriek in Amsterdam in order to get familiar with the latest trends on the Dutch fashion market and to catch up with some major brands. Wim Westen of Vima Fashion from Kocani accepted the invitation and ­added joined visits to his clients.

600 brands Modefabriek takes place twice a year, in January and July, showcasing over 600 brands on 40,000 sqm, attracting nearly 20,000 international visitors in two days.

Various brands presented at Modefabriek are familiar with the Macedonian ­fashion indus-

Summum Woman produced in Macedonia before the economic crisis

try: Dutch Summum W ­ oman, Corel and Mexx, German

Lebek and Zaffiri and UK Ted Baker all have experience

with outsourcing production to Mace­donian manufacturers.

Serbian IVKO Woman

next fair: 26/27 January 2014 see: www.modefabriek.nl

Also Corel has experience with outsourcing production to Macedonia

Three of the 20,000 visitors

photos: NL Chamber, Modefabriek/Press Only Amsterdam/RvdA

Also present was the Serbian brand IVKO Woman, represented through German SHETrading GmbH. Dutch representative is Jos Zwerink of Sjosz Mode from Zutphen.

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newsletter no. 3 / September 2013

www.tedbaker.com

www.ivko.com

www.lienengiel.nl

www.lebek.de

www.no-excess.com

www.itsnoize.com

www.notthesame.com

www.geishafashion.eu

www.mexx.com

photos: NL Chamber

www.zaffiri-by-apanage.de

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newsletter no. 3 / September 2013

events

Visiting clients with Vima Fashion Following the fashion fair Modefabriek, Wim Westen of Vima Fashion took the chance to visit Dutch and Belgian clients and introduce them to NL Chamber.

“For most of its Dutch and Belgian clients Vima Fashion has been working for many years.

Therefore it was my pleasure to introduce them to NL Chamber of which Vima Fashion is co-founder and member,” says Wim Westen, technical director of Vima Fashion in Kocani. six weeks through put time The first visit concerned a fashion company with an ­ amazing production cycle. The owner proudly explained: “We make about a hundred new designs per week. Our sup­ pliers get two weeks to produce the fa­brics and get them to Macedonia. Meanwhile we prepare the patterns and provide the trimmings. Production of the garments with an ave­ rage order size of 1,500 pieces

Well organized chaos for an amazing production volume and speed

is mana­ged by Vima Fashion at various factories in Macedonia.

Within six weeks after the design, our customers have the

garments in their warehouse.”

These customers are large Dutch, Belgian and French retail chains for ladies’ wear. theme party wear Another loyal client of Vima Fashion is active in a ­ totally different segment of the ­ ­fashion industry with a collection of hundreds of items for Carnival, Hallo­ ween, Christmas, Sinter­ klaas, or any particular theme party wear. riding in style

Wim Westen (The Hague, 1945) is an allround garment production expert who worked all over the world in managing production orders. After working ­several years for Dutch and Belgian companies in Mace­donia he started the garment production agency Vima Fashion in 2004. In 2008 Vima Fashion opened its own production facility, moving into a new building in 2014.

Riding in fashionable tailcoat

photos: NL Chamber

Fancy costumes with lots of details at theme party wear company

One of the smaller clients of Vima Fashion is also active in a niche market: highly fashio­ nable tailcoats for the equestrian sports.

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newsletter no. 3 / September 2013

projects

Netherlands Embassy: Customs and business climate Both NL Chamber and the Netherlands Embassy regularly receive comments on customs requirements and procedures. NL Chamber provided background information with which the Embassy initiated a dialogue with the ­authorities.

Right after summer a few companies approached the Embassy with comments on ­ requirements from the Mace­ donian customs authorities which they referred to as “excessive”. Since the Dutch ­ customs authorities have provided technical assistance to their Macedonian colleagues in a 10 year cooperation project and regulations are said to have been copied from the Dutch system, the Embassy decided to explore the matter. important factor in the business climate Deputy Head of Mission at the Netherlands Embassy, Peter Verheyen: “The extend ­ of ­ customs procedures is an impor­ tant factor in the business climate where international trade and investments are concerned. The Embassy

Ambassador Schuurman and Director General of the Customs Admini­ stration Vancho Kargov at a ceremony on 10 years cooperation between both customs authorities in November 2012.

and NL Chamber arranged indivi­dual discussions with entrepreneurs with the purpose to get better insight into the practical impact of the Mace­ donian customs operation.” A

first discussion with the Mace­ donian Customs Admini­stration has already taken place and the Embassy will continue working on the subject.

This process will be continued.

network

Initiatives for bilateral chambers in Albania and Bulgaria In June NL Chamber received a request to share the experience as a Dutch-Macedonian Chamber of Commerce with the objective to establish a similar organization in Albania.

An extensive correspon­ dence followed with Mr Jac Tempelaars, formerly employed at the Dutch Chambers of Commerce and currently professionally engaged with Albania and Kosovo as country coordinator for PUM Netherlands Senior Experts. On Saturday 28 September a four-hour mee­ ting

took place in Prizren, Kosovo.

Objective is to work together in the future and therewith reach a wider audience in the Nether­lands for doing business in both countries.

At another meeting in the Netherlands in spring with a consulting company active in both countries, a similar idea was discussed.

ting in Prizren took place, NL Chamber received a phonecall from the president of the Bulgarian-Dutch Business Club.

Mr Koos Schouten explained that after 10 years of exis­ tence of the business club, it was time to go to the next le­vel and eventually even provide Dutch companies in Bulgaria with contacts in Macedonia.

Bulgarian Dutch Business Club Only five days before the mee­

www.bg-nl.com

photo: Netherlands Embassy

From Dutch businessmen in both Albania and Bulgaria NL Chamber received requests for sharing experience in order to built up a similar organization in those countries.

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newsletter no. 3 / September 2013

Sponsors of Foundation NL Chamber

www.nlembassy.org.mk

www.pivaraskopje.com.mk

www.boekestijntransport.com 8

newsletter no. 3 / September 2013

members

Dutch Natuurgevelsteen exploring Macedonian quarries Luxureous villas, a centre for remedial education, infrastructural objects: natural stone from quarries all over Macedonia pops up in various Dutch construction projects.

After having sold his business to his son, Thijs Zomer had a free hand to focus on something new. With his close friend Jan Zwiers who spends several months per year in Mace­donia he started with the import, promotion and sales of natural stone from Macedonian quarries through his company Natuurgevelsteen BV. sustainable employment

Quarry near Radovish, East Macedonia

With the first imports in 2008, the partners were directly res­ ponsible for the reopening of a quarry, provi­ding jobs for 17 people from the local village of Velmej, some 30 km north of Ohrid. “We have a small percentage of stone from other countries, but generating sustainable employment is our main motivation for working with five Macedonian quarries,” Zomer says.

The company also invested in equipment: an excavator and breaking machines, placed at the quarries. Zomer: “These investments reduce heavy physical labour and enable more added value.” adjusted for processing

Also pink stone available

The robust looks of natural stone

Natural stone as a product

Final result of a natural stone wall

photos: NL Chamber

The “added value” Zomer refers to, was essential for the success of Natuurgevelsteen: “Investors and architects were very enthousiastic about the

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aesthetics of natural stone.

Contractors however, predicted practical problems with cavi­ ty wall insulation and significantly slower processing due to differing sizes and shapes of the stones. Delays and ­ rising costs would be the result,” Zomer clarifies the hesitation of investors to choose natural stone. “With the breaking machines the stones are cut to brick dimensions, with an easy to process, flat innerside while preserving the rough natural stone look on the outerside.

The stones are all carefully stacked with the outerside ­facing up for quickest handling

at the construction site.”

Geplastik When in Macedonia, Jan ­Zwiers stays in Gevgelija. Zwiers: “A close friend of mine in Gevge­ lija is Zoran Gjurov, director of ­Geplastik DOO and member of NL Chamber. For the celebration of the first Dies Natalis of NL Chamber early this year at Skovin Winery, Zoran asked me to join him. Afterwards we kept in touch by phone and email, Bob Smit joined us to visit two quarries and of course we decided to become member as well, through my Macedonian company Helbi DOOEL.”

Thijs Zomer

Jan Zwiers

www.natuurgevelsteen.nl fb.com/natuurgevelsteen twitter.com/ngs_bv

members

Dutch company bought Holmak Bitola The Macedonian producer of heat exchangers Holmak was bought by a Dutch and b ­ ecame part of German group Centrotec Sustainable AG.

32 stamps, 276 signatures “After approval of the Macedonian Competition Authority, the take-over was settled on 13 June with 32 stamps and 276 signatures at the notary,” says Mark Lammers, mana­ ging director of Holmak HeatX. “The bureaucracy is quite substantial,” clarifies Lammers, “but doing business in Mace­ donia is very pleasant with good opportunities for all kinds of production.”

Holmak factory in Bitola

investment in second production line “In Staphorst we run a production facility for plastic heat exchangers, with a capacity of 24,000 per year. In Macedonia we produce some 1,200 alu-

minium heat exchangers per month and we are currently investing in a second production line for our largest type of heat exchanger, the TS110.” www.holmak.eu www.centrotec.com

Aluminium counter flow plate heat exchangers at Holmak in Bitola

photos: NL Chamber, Holmak HeatX BV

The company Holmak DOOEL was established in 2005 for production of aluminium counter flow plate heat exchan­gers.

Several of its customers are part of the large German group of companies in energy-efficient technology for buil­dings, Centrotec Sustainable AG in Brilon. Centrotec decided to take over Holmak and placed it under the newly established company Holmak HeatX BV in Staphorst, the Netherlands.

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members

Feydom sofas and lounge suites for the Dutch market Great concept, enormous enthousiasm and unlimited energy for participation in trade fairs and travelling to potential clients: Feydom Furniture is wanted everywhere!

Feydom Furniture DOO was established in 2006 in Skopje by the energetic and cheerful designer couple Filimena and Zoran Radonjanin. With 60 employees Feydom creates award-winning sofas and lounge suites, conquering the European market.

Feydom collection 2014: MATACAO

simply extraordinary Packed into a concept of unicolour rectangular shapes, the taut lines of Feydom may seem simple, but the philosophy behind is far from ordinary. By redefining sofas as a combination of smartly designed elements, Feydom adds multiple appearances and functionality to a single product. clever limitation

continuous sales efforts Both owners frequently travel abroad to participate in trade fairs and meet potential ­clients, also in the Netherlands.

Bob Smit, executive director

Award winning model Q6

of NL Chamber: “At a recent visit to the Netherlands mid July, we met with an energetic, creative entrepreneur, just like Filimena and Zoran Radonjanin. He was immediately enthousiastic about the Feydom concept and saw good opportunities for his online business in design furniture.” Right after the summer holidays Feydom

travelled to the Netherlands to meet with this and another potential client they got to know through the international furnishing show IMM in Köln early this year. Smit: “Since negotiations are currently taking place, we cannot disclose any names, but we expect Feydom soon to have a solid base on the Dutch market.” www.feydom.com.mk www.facebook.com/feydom www.twitter.com/feydominteriors www.youtube.com/channel/...

photos: NL Chamber, Feydom Furniture DOO

Other seemingly simple but again extraordinary principles of the Feydom concept are in clever limitation of raw materials and transport volume.

In order to reduce costs, risks and complexity of logistics, Feydom only uses one type of fabric in only eight colours, whereas the product elements are also designed for optimal packaging and minimum space in storage and transport.

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service

Market Scan Members receive a 50% discount on the preparation of a Market Scan.

A Market Scan is a short overview of a certain market with key statistics on for example market size, information on relevant regulations and contacts of key players and organi­zations in that market. focus The objective of a market scan is to decide whether a certain market is interesting enough for further efforts and, if so, to focus the efforts on the lar­gest or most promising marketsegments or companies.

Scope, contents and price is always defined in consultation.

statistics

graph 1: internet usage

graph 2: mobile internet

ed to mainly Belgium, Germany and the UK. source: www.gfactueel.nl

Agenda

Internet usage

short

Webshopping

The Dutch online retail market was 9.8 billion EUR in 2012 with 88 million transactions by 10.6 million consumers. For 2013 a further growth is expected to 10.5 billion EUR. source: www.thuiswinkel.org

Strawberries

The Dutch strawberry production in 2012 was 15 million kg.

Almost half of that was export-

Toplocations

The annual study by magazine Elsevier on Dutch toplocations for business shows municipa­ lity Haarlemmermeer as no. 1, followed by Zwolle and Eindhoven. Airport Schiphol is the “motor” for Haarlemmermeer.

Amsterdam is ranked 23rd. source: www.elsevier.nl

25.11 Forum on doing busi­ ness in Macedonia

KvK Rotterdam 26.11 Forum on doing busi ness in Macedonia

Greenport Venlo XX.12 Seminar on Customs

and Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) in

co-operation with the

Netherlands Embassy

Invitation will follow.

illustrations: NL Chamber

In the EU internet usage is highest in Sweden and the Netherlands with 94% of the population. For mobile internet usage, the Dutch are fourth with 56%, mostly on smartphone. Sweden is first (70%), followed by the UK (63%) and Denmark (61%). In Germany mobile internet usage is only 31%. source: Statistics Netherlands

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short

Calendar of Trade Fairs With a new year coming up, it is time to plan next year’s trade fairs.

Selection of trade fairs in the Netherlands and Mace­donia.

NB: All blue text is clickable!

The Netherlands Major trade fairs take place at: Jaarbeurs, Utrecht 99,000 sqm, 13 halls www.jaarbeurs.nl

RAI, Amsterdam 87,000 sqm, 11 halls www.rai.nl

Ahoy, Rotterdam 30,000 sqm, 6 halls www.ahoy.nl

Regional locations for trade fairs: Brabanthallen,

‘s-Hertogenbosch 29,500 sqm, 6 halls IJsselhallen, Zwolle 17,000 sqm, 4 halls MECC, Maastricht 29,500 sqm, 4 halls Most fairs in the Netherlands have entrance fees and offer discounts for early registration online.

Please do not hesitate to contact NL Chamber when you plan to visit a fair in the Nether­lands.

Macedonia Major trade fairs take place at: Skopje Fair, Skopje 16.000 sqm, 6 halls

www.skopjefair.com.mk

photo impressions of the fairs: www.fb.com/SkopjeFair/

Entrance tickets can only be purchased at the spot; online registration is not possible.

Please do not hesitate to contact NL Chamber when you plan to visit a fair in Macedonia.

The Netherlands 13-16.01.2014

14-19.01.2014

16-17.01.2014

22-23.01.2014

22-24.01.2014

26-27.01.2014

03-07.02.2014

04-06.02.2014

11-14.03.2014

12-13.03.2014 18-20.03.2014

02-03.04.2014

20-21.05.2014

20-22.05.2014

Horecava and Wine Professional, RAI - Amsterdam 400 food service exhibitors; 100 wine exhibitors Dutch Tourism Expo, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht 850 exhibitors; first day for professional visitors only Vakbeurs Facilitair, Brabanthallen - ‘s-­Hertogenbosch products and services involved in facility management i.e. all internal non-core activities of companies, like maintenance, cleaning, catering, mailroom, reception, it-support, vehicles etc.

Biovak, IJsselhallen - Zwolle 350 exhibitors in the sustainable organic food chain Gevel and Material Xperience, Ahoy - Rotterdam products and technology for facade construction materials expo for architects, creative professionals Modefabriek, RAI - Amsterdam sales exhibition of the major fashion brands VSK, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht air treatment, heating, sanitary systems and energy Integrated Systems Europe, RAI - Amsterdam integrated electronic systems: audio, video, lighting ESEF, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht engineering and subcontracting Transport & Logistics, Ahoy - Rotterdam StocExpo, Ahoy - Rotterdam 180 exhibitors: pums, valves, pipes, tanks and related Empack, Brabanthallen - ‘s-Hertogenbosch packaging materials, machines, coding, labelling etc.

World Private Label / PLMA, RAI - Amsterdam european private label producers in food and non-food 3,800 exhibitors, 68 countries, 42 regional pavilions VIV Europe, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht animal husbandry and processing

Macedonia Note: All mentioned fairs in Macedonia are organized by the same organizer and at the same place. At this moment the respective pages on the organizer’s website do not include any further details.

04-08.03.2014

25-30.03.2014

10-12.04.2014

10-12.04.2014

24-27.09.2014

14-18.10.2014

Build and Construct construction, building materials and c ­ onstruction mechanization Mebel furniture, interior, woodworking supplies and machinery Days of Education universities and major employers Skopje Travel Market congress tourism, agrotourism, rural tourism, wine tourism etc.

AgroFood Fair food and beverages Tehnoma Fair metallurgy, electronics, energy, non-metals, security, protection 13