NL Chamber Magazine Winter 2018

magazine WINTER 2018 c/o Netherlands Embassy

Aminta III 69-71

1000 Skopje

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

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

About half 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 Dies Natalis with a Surinamese menu New Year’s Eve party at Cosy Bar Excursion Van Hool coach factories TexRec Conference: solutions for textile cutting waste Breakfast at Symphony’s Emerging entrepreneurs at high school startup competition Info session on Dutch and Macedonian business support Speed dating at Ambassadors’ Conference network Business gatherings by the Embassies Minister of Foreign Investments meeting NL Chamber Network gathering Dutch IT companies members Tricode acquired by Building Blocks Dutch entrepreneurs visiting DIK Fagus and Anthura Visar Ramajli on country branding at TEDxPristina Tinex started operating distribution centre Steel constructions Rajceva Mall Belgrade and theater T ­ etovo CSR award for Pakomak’s “Green Planet” theatre showPivara Pivara Skopje published first social-economic impact report HAVEP on circular workwear Dena launched individually printed table covers statistics Sales and export of medical cannabis short Short News / Calendar of Trade Fairs supported by:

photo: NL Chamber

Dutch-Macedonian Chamber of Commerce

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

events

Dies Natalis with a Surinamese menu The sixth anniversary of NL Chamber will have a Surinamese dinner. The celebration will also be joined by the winning high school team of startup competition Get in the Ring. rice, roti and root vegetables tayer and cassave.

ponche davet

multi-cultural kitchen Centuries of colonization, sla­ very and labour migration has made Suriname one of the most diversified countries in the world. As the population, also the kitchen is a rich mixture of influences from diffe­ rent parts of the world with Hindustani, Indian, Javanese, African, Chinese, Portugese, Dutch and even Jewish influences. In the period prior to

agar agar

Chef Schönbeck Nicole Schönbeck learnt the secrets of the Surinamese cuisine from her mother: both her parents were born and raised in Suriname. Nicole joined her husband Alfred Schönbeck to Macedonia in 2015 where he manages production for Dutch workwear manufacturer HAVEP.

Nicole Schönbeck

future entrepreneurs We will also welcome the winning team of the startup competition for high school students: team ­ InCharge from Kumanovo. See the article “Emerging Entrepreneurs”.

roti chicken

independence, many citizens emigrated to the Netherlands, introducing their traditional dishes like roti, pom, snesi ­ foroe, moksimeti, moksi-­aleisi and losi foroe to the Dutch kitchen. Basic ingredients are

Suriname In the 17th century, Dutch and English settlers esta­ blished plantation colonies for coffee, cocoa, sugar cane and cotton in the fertile ­Guiana plains. With the Treaty of Breda that ended the second Dutch-English war in 1667, it was agreed that England would keep Nieuw Amsterdam (which they renamed to New York) and the Dutch Republic would keep control over Suriname as part of the colonies Dutch Guiana.

African slaves were brought in to work at the plantations, until slavery was abolished in 1863. The Dutch than recruited contract labour from the Dutch East Indies (current Indonesia), India, China and the Middle East. Therefore, the population of almost 600,000 people is one of the most diversified in the world, yet with Dutch still as official language.

In the decolonization process, Suriname became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1954 and was granted full indepence in 1975. Fearing that indepen­ dence would not be beneficial, nearly a third of the population emigrated to the Netherlands. wikipedia.org/wiki/Suriname

winning team InCharge, Kumanovo

photos: NL Chamber, Nicole Schönbeck, Macedonia 2025

Back in 2016 NL Chamber started celebrating its anniversary with a 5-course dinner of typical Dutch winterfood, followed in 2017 with an Indone­ sian rice table. For the sixth Dies Natalis on 17 January 2018, NL Chamber’s Chef Paul Houthuijzen will be joined by Nicole Schönbeck for yet ano­ ther wonderful menu, this time from Suriname.

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

events

New Year’s Eve party at Cosy Bar Opened in spring 2017, Dutch-owned Cosy Bar in Skopje organized a party on New Year’s Eve with Dutch oliebollen, German Glühwein and Belgian beer.

The tiny pub at Kosturski Heroi in the quarter Debar Maalo has a long history of serving Belgian beer to the Dutch. First disco­ vered as “Kaj Dule”, the Dutch started gathering there when it was renamed to “La Chouffe”.

Following its ­closure, Dutch ITpartners Paul Houthuijzen and Ruben de Gelder and horeca professional Katerina Nikolik took over the place. Cosy Bar offers over 50 Belgian, Dutch and German beers, while ser­ ving typical Dutch and Belgian snacks.

On New Year’s Eve, Macedonian celebrity Ognen Janeski turned Cosy Bar into a lively party. The Dutch community and NL Chamber members were also warmly invited.

Cosy Bar Kosturski Heroi 4a, Skopje m: +389 70 364224 (reservations) fb.com/cosy.cosybar

events

Excursion Van Hool coach factories On 25 April NL Chamber members are invited to visit the factories of Belgian bus and coach manufacturer Van Hool in the Free Economic Zone Bunardzik, near Skopje.

NL Chamber members will surely gain valuable insights into modern industrial production technologies with the excursion that is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 25 April 2018.

photos: NL Chamber, Van Hool

Being the third large foreign investor in Skopje’s Free Economic Zone in 2012, the family company Van Hool from Belgium invested 25 mln EUR in a production plant for busses and coaches, employing 600 people.

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

events

TexRec Conference: solutions for textile cutting waste At the conference on Textile Recycling in June, authorities showed commitment to find solutions. Meanwhile the Customs Authority announced an intended policy change.

Two additional rows of chairs were needed to accommodate all participants at the confe­ rence on textile waste recycling organized by EPI Centar International in co-operation with NL Chamber under the ­ SAID project “Partnership for U Better Business Regulation” and supported by the Nether­ lands Embassy. commitment

9,000 tons per year The Textile Trade Association

Textile cutting waste at a garment factory

(TTA) estimates the amount of textile cutting waste generated in Macedonia on 9,000 tons per year, most of which ends up at the local landfills. The only options that garment manufacturers have to avoid this, is to either return the waste to their clients or pay import duties.

Obviously, clients are not in favour of receiving the cutting waste with their garments and the sector regards paying

Textile waste stored separately at Prilep landfill

import duties on waste and espe­cially the proposed tariffs in­ appropriate considering the fact that the waste does not have any economic value for the sector. burn or burry Whereas the Customs Autho­ rity requires the waste from textile industry to be ­destroyed - i.e. burned or burried - by the municipal sanitation depart-

photos: Textile Trade Association

The conference was opened

by Minister of Finance Dragan Tevdovski who expressed his commitment to find a solution that prevents textile cutting waste from ending up at Mace­ donian landfills. The fact that the garment industry mainly operates under inward processing means that tempora­ rily imported fabrics remain under customs control - inclu­ ding the cutting waste.

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

ments, environmental laws do not allow the sanitation departments to accept indus­trial waste under customs control.

Since proper facilities to burn waste do not exist in Macedonia, this waste is being dumped together with domestic waste.

The only exception is the Prilep landfill: director Zlatko ­Risteski acquired permission from the Ministry of Environment to store textile waste separately, compressed in white bags. boxing balls For Dutch workwear producer HAVEP, dumping cutting waste does not match their requirements in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Front row, right to left: Minister of Finance Dragan Tevdovski and Ambassador Wouter Plomp.

Therefore HAVEP took provisional measures, returning the waste to the Netherlands. For example, the cutting waste is used as filling material for ­boxing balls. technological solutions and customs treatment At the conference two Dutch experts introduced the audience to the matter. Anton

Luiken elaborated on the tech-

nical possibilities of recycling textiles and current practice in Western Europe. His presentation, including many links to external sources, is available online at: nl.mk/texrec2 Customs officer Martien ­Ector explained the legal framework of Processing under Customs Control. Prior to the confe­ rence ­ Ector had an extensive meeting with his Macedonian ­ counterparts to find possibilities to enable recycling of textile waste that is under customs control. passionate debate

nl.mk/texrec2

HAVEP boxing ball

The forum discussion lasted 1.5 hour with lots of interaction with the audience.

photos: EPI Centar International, HAVEP

presentation Luiken:

The panel discussion with both Dutch experts, Ana Karanfilova Maznevska of the Ministry of Environment, Kiril Zajkov of the Customs Authority and Natasa Sivevska of the Textile Trade Association turned into a

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

passionate debate with nume­ rous people from the audience.

Extended Producer Responsibility Karanfilova suggested that with the renewal of the Law on Waste Management the Ministry of Environment could include textile waste into the regulations on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) that currently apply to packaging

and electronic waste. Such mea­sure would enable the textile industry to arrange for collection and processing of cutting waste by itself. working group The panel also proposed to form a working group on this matter with all stakeholders.

Next morning the first mee­ting was scheduled and meanwhile the working group has met Alfred Schönbeck of HAVEP with textile recycling expert Anton Luiken.

several times. customs solution

Gabriela Pavloska, export manager garment manufacturer Okitex, Skopje

On 14 September NL Chamber was unofficially informed by the Customs Authority about an intended policy change (See blue box). It is unknown when this would take effect, also depending on the new Law on Waste Management.

Zlatko Risteski, director municipal sanitation department JKP Komunalec, Prilep

Martina Mirceska, bedding manufacturer Comy Angel, Prilep

The Customs ­Authority unofficially informed NL Chamber about their intensions to change the policy on the customs treatment of locally obtained cutting waste and leftovers. Confirmed cutting waste would be released from customs control and be exempted from import duties and VAT. This would instantly allow the industry to bring the cutting waste into free circulation after which anyone could start collecting and processing the waste in a sustainable manner.

For leftovers - i.e. larger parts of fabric - the Customs Authority would introduce one single tariff, regardless of the composition of the fabric.

photos: EPI Centar International

intended policy change Customs Authority

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

events

Breakfast at Symphony’s Dutch IT company Symphony Solutions hosted the annual Back to Business Breakfast.

The fourth edition of the after­ -summer gathe­ring, NL Chamber’s “Back to Business Breakfast” was offered by Symphony Solutions, a Dutch software producer with development centres in Ukraine, Poland and Macedonia. Although the official opening was scheduled

Symphony Solutions owner Theo Schnitfink with Ambassador Wouter Plomp

Symphony Solutions DOOEL e: info@symphony-solutions.eu w: www.symphony-solutions.eu linkedin.com/../symphony... fb.com/symphony.solutions twitter.com/symphony... youtube.com/channel...

brown Amsterdam bar and meeting rooms styled like old Dutch houses. pictures: nl.mk/B2BB17

photos: Symphony Solutions / Ivana Sarandeska

for autumn, the construction works were finished far enough to provide a warm Dutch atmosphere. As all Symphony Solutions locations, also the premises in Skopje include a

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

events

Emerging entrepreneurs at high school startup competition 16 teams of high school students and 8 teams of young professionals joined the battle at startup competition Get in the Ring. NL Chamber joined the jury. with a pitch in the battle ring.

MamaOrgana was declared as the winner of the competition and will represent Macedonia at the global final in Lisbon in spring 2018. MamaOrgana presented an idea for a social enterprise in soil-less growing media for organic food production.

Foundation Get in the Ring e: battle@gitr.co w: www.getinthering.co

pitching in the battle ring Eight startups, Macedonian entrepreneurs with new business ideas participated in four rounds of battles. In each battle two teams competed with each other, presenting their business ideas to the jury

fb.com/getintheringglobal

twitter.com/gitrglobal linkedin.com/../getinthe... youtube.com/channel/...

Omega product presentation

raw organic cosmetics

Omega Research beating ALHO

Furthermore, the promi­ sing startup Omega Research, run by the ambitious Master of Pharmacy Irina Velevska, raised the attention of event

The jury at the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle for the finals

Founded in 2012 in Rotterdam, the Foundation Get in the Ring aims to connect startups to opportunities for growth and therewith reducing the failure rate of talented entrepreneurs.

Global partner is the Eras­ mus Centre for Entrepreneurship (ECE), part of Erasmus University Rotterdam.

photos: Macedonia 2025, Srbinovska Photography

On Tuesday 31 October the Macedonian finals of startup competition Get in the Ring took place in Skopje. Licensee of the Dutch formula is NCDIEL, the National Centre for Development of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Learning.

Founder of NCDIEL and dri­ving force behind many innovation and entrepreneurship activities is Prof.dr. Radmil Polenakovik of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Skopje.

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

sponsor Macedonia2025 and will receive further support.

Omega Research deve­lops and produces raw organic cosme­ tics. high school competition

Teams Irma (Mirce Acev, Prilep) and Pillbo (Nikola Karev, Strumica)

Teams Cool but Cooler (Josip Broz Tito, Bitola) and Grid from Gym (Rade Jov­ cevski Korchagin, Skopje)

Friday 27 October at the Fa­ culty of Mechanical ­Engineering in Skopje. All teams had their own teachers as mentors. entrepreneurial spirit As Tanja Chipevska, teacher of economy, business and entrepreneurship at Gymnasium Kocho Racin in Veles already promised in 2014: “Curricula should be developed in order to stimulate an entrepreneurial spirit and grow entre-

preneurial competences.” Her team Smart Pot did not make it to the finals, but the students were clearly very well prepared and passionately delivered an overwhelming pitch of their idea for a self-watering plant pot, managed through an app.

kinetic energy charger The winner was team InCharge from Kumanovo, presenting an idea for a bracelet that charges from the kinetic energy of any

renewable energy, Internet of Things Many teams shared a sense of urgency for environmental care by focussing on applying recycled materials, using renewable energy, or organic products. Other teams followed global trends on increasing the comfort of life with apps and Internet of Things solutions. herbal medicine

Team PharmYouth (D-r Pance Kara­ gjozov, Skopje)

mas, Omni­Vitae, consisting of gra­ nules made from the herb Achillea Millefolium. They selected the area of Mariovo near Prilep for its favourable conditions for cultivation of the herb. Additional motivation was to decrease the depopulation of the region through employment from the cultivation, the collection centre and the processing facility.

Team PharmYouth from Skopje won the second place with a natural auxiliary medicinal product to fight ovarian inflammation and uterine myo-

NCDIEL

Nat. Centre for Development of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Learning

e: info@ncdiel.mk w: www.ncdiel.mk fb.com/ncdiel.skopje

twitter.com/ncdiel linkedin.com/company/ncdiel

photos: Macedonia 2025

Using the same formula, another competition was or­ ganized for high school teams.

Sixteen teams from all over Macedonia participated in the semi-finals that took place on

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

movement and to be used for charging mobile phones.

Team leader Jovana wrote the script that she and her team members Bisera, Damjan and Gorjan turned into a wonderful theatrical performance.

The jury found a similar pro­ duct, Ampy, that tripled the reques­ted amount of 100.000 EUR on Kickstarter but dramatically failed to deliver results. The team replied that Ampy only charged from one-­dimensional movements, whereas InCharge was to use multi-dimensional charging. beating the adults After viewing these well-prepared, passionate and energetic pitches, with all questions promptly ans­ wered in perfect English, the performance of most of the adults was in comparison a little bit disappoin­ ting.

This was a solid proof that Macedonia awaits a splendid generation of future entrepreneurs!

Team In Charge (Gymnasium Goce Delcev, Kumanovo)

Team InCharge and both mentors will be present at NL Chamber’s Dies Natalis cele­bration.

network

Business gatherings by the Embassies Although Dutch business activity in Albania is still limited compared to Macedonia, the traditional Business Borrel mid September is an excellent occasion to maintain good relations. Ambassador Dewi van de Weerd hosted the network event at the Dutch residence in Tirana on Tuesday 19 September.

On Wednesday 4 October Ambassador Wouter Plomp received a large group of Dutch and Macedonian entrepreneurs as well as representatives of

the government of Macedonia at the Dutch residence in Bardovci. Finally, Ambassador Gerrie Willems used the oc-

Business Borrel Tirana

casion of the Holland Pavilion at the trade fair AgroKos for a business gathering in Pristina end October.

photos: Macedonia 2025, Netherlands Embassy Tirana

Dutch Ambassadors hosted network events in Tirana, Skopje and Pristina.

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

network

Minister of Foreign Investments meeting NL Chamber Ambassador Plomp initiated a meeting of the Board of NL Chamber with the Minister of Foreign Investments and her team.

Upon the acknowledgement of Ambassador Wouter Plomp with the new Minister of ­Foreign Investments Zorica Apostolska, the Ambassador initiated a meeting with the Board of NL Chamber.

On 28 September Wim Wes­ ten, Alfred Schönbeck and Bob

Smit joined a breakfast mee­ ting with the Minister at the Nether­lands Embassy. labour market and SME’s In the pleasant and open discussion, NL Chamber expressed concerns about the ­local effects of attracting large

f­oreign investors on the ­labour market.

Furthermore, NL Cham­­ ber stressed the importance of supporting SME’s a ­ nd continuing efforts to decrease bureaucracy.

Zorica Apostolska, Minister for ­Foreign Investments

network

Network gathering Dutch IT companies The exploration visit of a young Dutch company in public safety incident management applications was the inspiration for inviting the Dutch IT companies already active in Macedonia for an informal gathering.

Especially in this sector of highly educated professio­ nals, it is essential to establish

vivid relations with the staff at Dutch headquarters for which the companies organize various social events.

Having this in mind, NL Chamber invited the local staff of these companies to mingle with eachother and Dutch IT professionals with a Belgian beer at Dutch-owned Cosy Bar.

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Photos: Netherlands Embassy, Government of Macedonia, NL Chamber

Staff of Dutch IT companies in Macedonia gathered on a summer evening for Belgian beer at Cosy Bar in Debar Maalo.

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

events

Info session on Dutch and Macedonian business support The Netherlands Embassy is planning an info session for the business community about support measures of the Dutch and Macedonian government early February.

The Macedonian government recently published its industrial policy that includes various measures for financial support to both local and foreign SME’s.

The Netherlands Embassy is planning an info session on business support measures for the first week of February.

jobs, innovation, export

info session business support

The Agency for Foreign Investments and Export Promotion will implement the measures.

The financial support aims on creating jobs and training new staff, stimulating co-operation with local suppliers, investing in R&D, innovation and other capital investments and increasing competitiveness and export.

7 February 2018 provisional date A representative of the Mace­ donian government will present the new industrial policy.

Dutch support programmes Mihill Luli of the Netherlands

Enterprise Agency will explain which support programmes are available for Dutch ­companies.

Invest in Macedonia w: www.investinmacedonia.com fb.com/InvestinMacedonia www.youtube.com/...

Netherlands Enterprise Agency Ministry of Economic Affairs

Prinses Beatrixlaan 2 PO Box 93114 2509 AC THE HAGUE The Netherlands t: +31 88 0424242 Dutch Trade Investment Fund w: www.rvo.nl/dtif linkedin.com/../rijksdienst... fb.com/rijksdienstvoor...

Download the table of measures from the industrial policy

nl.mk/MKIndPol

Contact Mihill Luli Business Development Officer t: +31 88 6021037 e: mihill.luli@rvo.nl linkedin.com/in/mihill-luli-...

events

Speed dating at Ambassadors’ Conference During their annual conference, the Dutch ambassadors are receiving the Dutch business community on Wednesday 31 January at the Van Nelle factory in Rotterdam.

Deadline for application is Wednesday 17 January: www.rvo.nl/actueel/...

photo: Mihill Luli

Dutch companies can book meetings with Dutch ambassadors in Rotterdam.

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

Sponsors of NL Chamber

www.netherlandsandyou.nl

www.pivaraskopje.com.mk

www.boekestijntransport.com 13

magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

members

Tricode acquired by Building Blocks With the acquisition of Tricode, UK Building Blocks strengthens its technical ­capabilities in Java CMS solutions and its worldwide presence.

NL Chamber member Tricode, specialized in on-line customer experience management solu­ tions, has been acquired by Buil­ding Blocks from the UK. Building Blocks, founded in 2007, serves global companies with complex digital platforms from its headquarters in Manchester and offices in Zaragoza, Spain and Boston, USA. The company is part of Dept Agency from Amsterdam, a network of digital marke­ ting and e-commerce solution agencies from Germany, Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands.

­services.” partnership For Building Blocks, the acquisition almost doubles the number of employees to 130 and increases its turnover with 4 million GBP to 12 million GBP. With Tricode Building Blocks broadens the technical capabilities with Java solutions such as Adobe Experience Manager and Magnolia and e-commerce solution Intershop.

Dept Agency e: hello@deptagency.com w: www.deptagency.com

fb.com/deptagency linkedin.com/../deptagency twitter.com/deptagency

great move Tricode was founded in 1999 in Veenendaal and opened its development centre in Skopje, Macedonia in 2010, with currently 20 developers.

Jasper van der Luijtgaarden

Building Blocks Ltd

CEO

e: info@building-blocks.com w: www.building-blocks.com

fb.com/buildingblocksagency

Evert Jan van Schuppen

CEO Evert Jan van Schuppen about the acquisition: “This is a great move for our company and our clients, who will bene­fit from the breadth of services that Building Blocks and the wider Dept network can ­ offer, including consultancy and strategy, experience design and digital marketing

will help us achieve our goals of increasing our footprint in the Benelux and the Balkan region, while developing our breadth of technical expertise and enabling us to offer a better service to our global client base.”

Building Blocks’ clients include Triumph Motorcycles and Kaspersky Labs, while Tricode serves amongst others Rabobank and Liberty Global.

Clients at other Dept members include Philips (employer branding), Transavia (visual branding), fashion brand Tiger of Sweden, TomTom and online fashion retail giant Zalando.

linkedin.com/../building-bl... twitter.com/building_blocks

Tricode DOOEL w: www.tricode.nl w: www.skopjetechmeetup.mk

fb.com/Tricode linkedin.com/../Tricode twitter.com/Tricode

photos: Evert Jan van Schuppen, Figaro Digital

Jasper van de Luijtgaarden: “The partnership

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

members

Dutch entrepreneurs visiting DIK Fagus and Anthura A group of Dutch businessmen united in Microdonia BV included a Saturday of company visits in their annual trip to Macedonia.

The shareholders of micro investment fund Microdonia BV embarked on another journey to Macedonia early autumn.

The eighteen businessmen reserved Saturday 16 September for two company visits in eastern Macedonia.

Zomer and Jordev Driving force behind Microdonia are the friends and business partners Thijs Zomer and Jan Zwiers of Natuurgevel­ steen BV. “Zomer has built up an imperium in production of interior doors with three factories in the Netherlands,” says NL Chamber director Bob Smit.

“Production of doors is also the background of Petre Jordev, owner of the factory for upholstered chairs DIK Fagus. It was my long-cherished ambition to bring the two men together and I am very happy that Zomer decided to take the group of businessmen to the factory in Pehcevo.”

Microdonia delegation at DIK Fagus

The factory uses beech wood supplied by the State Forest Company and has a capacity of up to 20.000 upholstered chairs per month, of which some 15% is for two Dutch customers, the horeca sup­ pliers Homint and Hanos. a production line for pellets.

Wood waste is shreded and with sawdust compressed into pellets for heating. With 400 employees, DIK Fagus is the largest employer in the region. continuous investments

Thijs Zomer and Petre Jordev

The delegation spent the entire morning exploring DIK Fagus, for which occasion also Deputy Head of Mission Andri van Mens travelled to Pehcevo.

t: +389 32 386070 e: mebel@mebel.com.mk w: www.fagus.mk w: www.secret.mk Winner of the design contest

fb.com/DIK-Fagus...

photos: NL Chamber, DIK Fagus

DIK Fagus continuously invests in new equipment and recently extended its capacities to wood veneer production. The company also launched its own brand of chairs, Secret, for which young designers participated in a design contest.

Finally, the company installed

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

e: info@natuurgevelsteen.nl w: www.natuurgevelsteen.nl fb.com/natuurgevelsteen twitter.com/ngs_bv linkedin.com/...gevelsteen-bv youtube.com/...gevelsteen

Former Army complex in Pehcevo

Corporate Social Responsibility Jordev also explained his plans for redeveloping the former Army complex into a holiday resort for the elderly, focussing on peace, clean air, nature and comfort. Although he does not use the term Corporate Social Responsibility, Jordev hopes with such investments to make Pehcevo more attractive, sti足 mulating youngsters to stay in (or return to) their birthplace.

runs an in-vitro laboratory for breeding and propagating phaleanopsis that was officially opened in May 2015. Meanwhile the company finished the

construction of an extension with which the total surface measures 2.4 hectares and the total number of employees is almost 600. catching up

in-vitro laboratory After a wealthy lunch at the company restaurant, Thijs Zomer warmly invited Petre Jordev for a return visit.

w: www.microdonia.nl

NL MeetUp On 11 October 2018 足Anthura will host the NL MeetUp, the annual gathering in the Nether足lands of the Dutch members of NL Chamber, at the headquarters in Bleiswijk.

Members of the delegation also used the occasion to catch up with good friends, such as printing house Bato & Divajn.

The day before departure was dedicated to a wine tasting during a wonderful dinner in the wine cellar of Tikves Wi足 nery in Kavadarci.

Anthura MK DOOEL

The group continued to Kocani where general manager Stole Gogushovski opened the doors of Anthura for another tour.

The Dutch-owned company

fb.com/Anthura

fb.com/pages/anthura-mk...

twitter.com/anthurabv linkedin.com/../anthura-b.v. youtube.com/channel/...

photos: NL Chamber

e: info@anthura-mk.com e: info@anthura.nl w: www.anthura-mk.com w: www.anthura.nl

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

members

Visar Ramajli on country branding at TEDxPristina The CEO of Dutch Kivo in Kosovo inspired the audience with his success story on international business development, taking “country branding” personal.

Like Ramajli, also Kivo-owner Robert Kwakman got the question whether it was safe to do business in Kosovo. Kwakman simply invited his relatives and friends for a trip to Kosovo to show the country and proof that his business was safe.

KIVO Plastic Verpakkingen w: www.kivo.nl e: info@kivo.nl linkedin.com/../kivo...

nl.mk/kivo-kosovo (pictures)

youtube.com/channel/...

“Eighteen years after the war came to an end, people still ask me whether it is safe to live in Kosovo,” said Visar Ramajli on 7 October 2017 at TEDxPrishtina. Ramajli is a successfull serial entrepreneur and CEO of Kivo LLC in Kacanik, a joint-venture of the Dutch family company in plastic bags and foils Kivo Plastic Verpakkingen from Volendam.

“Country branding is a task for all of us”

Someone who turned Kosovo promotion into his daily business, is Stefan van Dijk. Edu­ cated as a journalist with specialization in intercultural communication, he first came to Kosovo in 2004. Nowadays he lives in Pristina with his wife and two kids. At TEDxPristina he explained his passion for Kosovo.

Organizer of the TEDx-events in Kosovo is Janine Mehmeti who logically has a similar drive for stimulating socialeconomic development of the country as her guests.

TEDxPristina was supported by the Netherlands Embassy.

International business deve­ lopment is not something that solely depends on governmental campaigns. Ramajli: “Country branding is a task for all of us”. Key to his entrepreneurial success is to work hard, actively approach potential business partners, proof reliability and show the country.

photos: TEDxPristina, NL Chamber

Visar Ramajli at TEDxPristina

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members

Tinex started operating distribution centre Macedonian retailer Tinex has built a modern 11.000 sqm DC at industrial zone Chojlija, opposite to Skopje Airport, Petrovec.

Tinex DC in Petrovec, under construction in February 2017

With 9 loading docks for goods receipts and 9 loading docks for distribution, nume­ rous StockKeeping Units and an area for processing of fast-moving goods, retail chain group Tinex is ready for the future. Until now the 39 supermarkets are

supplied directly from logistics partners, distributors and local producers.

Tinex e: tinex@tinex.com.mk w: www.tinex.com.mk linkedin.com/company/tinex fb.com/TINEXmk

members

Steel constructions Rajceva Mall Belgrade and theater ­Tetovo Beautiful projects in the region for Dutch Steel Con. The steel construction and reinforcement armature engineers of Steel Con reported wonderful new projects. Whereas the majority of the production is exported to the Netherlands,

Steel Con also participates in regional projects, such as the Skenderbeg square in Skopje.

By the end of the Summer the Rajceva shopping mall in the heart of Belgrade was opened and in autumn Steel Con delivered the beams for the construction of the new cultural centre with theatre, library and parking garage in Tetovo.

Steel Con in Mlado Nagoricane is part of Dutch Gerliko Group.

Beams for Tetovo Theatre

Gerliko Staalconstructie BV

Steel Con DOOEL e: info@steelcon.mk w: www.steelcon.mk

fb.com/gerlikostaalconstructie linkedin.com/../gerliko...

Rajceva shopping mall in Belgrade with steel constructions by Steel Con

photos: NL Chamber, Steel Con

e: info@gerlikostaalconstructie.nl w: ­www.gerlikostaalconstructie.nl

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

members

CSR award for Pakomak’s “Green Planet” theatre show Pivara and the Embassy supported a theatre show on recycling for elementary schools.

New generations are increa­ singly aware of the limitations of our planet as was also clear at the high school startup competition (see page 10).

Pakomak, supported by Pivara Skopje and the Nether­ lands Embassy, developed a ­theatre play aimed at elementary schools to raise awareness on separating and recycling of waste. 10,000 kids in ten cities attended the show. The Ministry of Economy rewarded Pakomak with the Corporate Social Responsibility award.

Pakomak was established to manage the legal obli­ gations of the industry to collect and process packaging waste.

Pakomak DOO w: www.pakomak.com.mk fb.com/pakomak.mk

members

Pivara Skopje published first social-economic impact report An overview of the role of Pivara Skopje in the society.

members

HAVEP on circular workwear Presentation at Companies Doing Good Forum.

Early November the Netherlands Embassy organized the second forum on Corporate Social Responsibility. Dragana Jakimov­ska of Dutch HAVEP presented the development

of a product line of circular workwear. “We sincerely believe that a circular economy without waste of natural re­ sources is possible!”

More info: www.havep.com

photos: Netherlands Embassy, Pakomak, Pivara Skopje

Without any legal obligation, Pivara Skopje took the effort for a profound analysis of the social-economic impact (PDF) of the company in 2016. The total direct and indirect employment amounts for 1,747 jobs. No less than 21 mln EUR of taxes were paid to the state budget, while 83 educational, cultural, sports and humanitarian events were supported.

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magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

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Dena launched individually printed table covers With the move to Kocani, Dena also invested in a new product line: fully customizable printed table covers.

Early 2017 Dena Textile Productions moved its Macedonian subsidiary Nido Global Textile from Skopje to Kocani. full colour printing

Dena Textile at Work

With the new and larger facility, Dena extended the range of products with table covers that can be printed in full co­ lour with fully customizable designs for birthdays, anniversaries and other unique events. Dena is now extending the capacity.

e: info@dena-textile.com w: www.dena-textile.com

fb.com/DenaTextile

twitter.com/denatextile linkedin.com/..textile-at-work

statistics

Sales and export of medical cannabis Provision of cannabis oil for pain relief in the Netherlands increased with 60%.

for Medicinal Cannabis Research (OMC) of the Ministry

Number of provisions of cannabis oil and flos per year

of Health, recently opened a new nursery. OMC exports medicinal cannabis to the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland and Macedonia.

source: Foundation for Pharmaceutical Statistics (SFK)

photos: Dena Textile Productions, Ministry of Health / OMC, Bedrocan

The total number of provisions of medicins with cannabis by Dutch pharmacies increased with 15% in 2017, where the increase in 2016 was 75%, reported the Foundation for Pharmaceutical Statistics. Oil variety provisions increased with 60% in 2017. The company Bedrocan, opera­ting under responsibility of the Office

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AAP for Rotterdam

Team CS, the consortium of architects that developed the new central railway station of Rotterdam, has won the Ameri­ can Architecture Prize 2017. www.architectureprize.com

Cliff house

The Greek-Japanese architect from Haarlem (NL) designed a house with a transparent roof under a pool, to be dug into a cliff with sea view.

The design was loved all over the world and drew the attention of a Lebanese steel tycoon who has meanwhile ordered the construction of the cliff house in a mountain near Beirut for 2.5 million EUR. www.laav.nl

Rotterdam Central Railway Station (2017)

search Centre Nether­lands de-

veloped a lead- and fluor-free product that ensures a longer life span of the panels.

from 140 countries, while sales doubled. www.kaansstreamstore.nl

www.energyra.com

3.550 EUR per ha.

The Dutch government organi­ zed an auction for agricultural land consessions. The highest bid was 3,550 EUR/ha per year for a plot of 20 hectares and a concession period of 4 years.

The average highest bid for the 39 plots for a total of 836 hectares was 2,228 EUR/ha.

PV-panel plant

The Dutch company Energyra is developing a highly automated factory for photovoltaic solar panels in Zaandam. E ­ nergy re-

Dutch bank ABN AMRO and cheese retailer Jan Kaan and his sons joint forces in a 5-day trial: live streaming sales to online clients, the world’s first stream store from Alkmaar.

The experiment attracted 56,000 curious online visitors

Corridor X finished

The Macedonian part of the pan-European Corridor X, running from Salzburg to Thessaloniki is now finished. The new highway between Demir Kapija and Smokvica, reduces the travel time to Gevgelija with half an hour. photos: AAP, Energyra, Konstantinos Simou, Elsevier

StreamStore

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Trade Fairs Selection of upcoming trade fairs in the Netherlands.

This list of upcoming trade fairs is a selection of larger fairs that might be useful for Macedonian companies, althoug many smaller fairs also exist for various niches.

NB: All blue text is clickable!

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 are: Brabanthallen, ‘s-Hertogenb.

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.

NL Chamber’s annual calendar also lists a selection of these fairs, next to the national holidays: nl.mk/latestcalendar This overview of trade fairs is also published separately:

Overview of Trade Fairs

nl.mk/tradefairsNL

08-11.01.2018

09-14.01.2018

15-17.01.2018

21-22.01.2018

23-25.01.2018

24-26.01.2018

06-07.02.2018

06-09.02.2018

06-09.02.2018

04-07.02.2018

20-22.02.2018

20-22.02.2018

07-11.03.2018

09-11.03.2018

09-11.03.2018

13-15.03.2018

14-15.03.2018

18-20.03.2018

20-22.03.2018

20-23.03.2018

10-12.04.2018

11-12.04.2018

17-19.04.2018

24-25.04.2018

15-18.05.2018

16-17.05.2018

29-30.05.2018

11-15.06.2018

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 CUE, Ahoy - Rotterdam 200 exhibitors in event- and entertainment technology Modefabriek, RAI - Amsterdam sales exhibition of the major fashion brands Gevel, Ahoy - Rotterdam products and technology for facade construction Vakbeurs Facilitair, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht 400 exhibitors; products/services facility management i.e. maintenance, cleaning, catering, ict, reception etc.

Nederlandse Kerstpakkettenbeurs, Expo - Houten 100 exhibitors in relational gifts for christmas VSK, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht heating, plumbing, climate control and refrigeration Integrated Systems Europe, RAI - Amsterdam 1100 exhibitors in AV / electronic systems integration Vakbeurs, De Woonindustrie - Nieuwegein furniture trade fair for showroom users GéPéBé, Autotron - Rosmalen trade fair for christmas packages HortiContact, Evenementenhal - Gorinchem 500 exhibitors in horticultural technology and supplies Hiswa, RAI - Amsterdam 300 exhibitors at Amsterdam Boat Show Beurs Eigen Huis, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht consumer fair for (re)construction of private homes with NL Chamber member www.natuurgevelsteen.nl Second Home, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht consumer fair for weekend and holiday houses Material Xperience, Ahoy - Rotterdam materials expo for architects, creative professionals Infosecurity and Data&Cloud Expo, Expo - Brussels exhibition on IT security, data and cloud solutions ProWein, Messe - Düsseldorf Macedonian pavilion at 15G21, with www.ezimit.mk, www.tikves.com.mk and www.stobiwinery.mk StocExpo, Ahoy - Rotterdam exhibition in tank terminal industry ESEF and Technishow, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht biennial trade fair in engineering and subcontracting Empack, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht Packaging Innovations, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht packaging materials, machines, coding, labelling etc.

Safety&Health@Work, Ahoy - Rotterdam platform for professionals in safety at work Building Holland, RAI - Amsterdam construction fair Plastic Recycling Show, RAI - Amsterdam exhibition and conference Interclean, RAI - Amsterdam trade fair professional cleaning industry PromZ.live, Ahoy - Rotterdam promotional articles and relational gifts exhibition World Private Label / PLMA, RAI - Amsterdam european private label producers in food and non-food 3,800 exhibitors, 68 countries, 42 regional pavilions brochure MK pavilion, see: nl.mk/PLMA-brochure CEBIT, Messe - Hannover ICT expo

photo: NL Chamber

magazine no. 11 / Winter 2018

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