Europe Outlook Issue 2 by Outlook Publishing

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INVESTMENT PROFILE 22

europe outlook takes a closer look at hollandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business and investment potential

ORACLE

EMEA 42 oracle has become one of the largest technology companies in the world on the strength of their extensive portfolio

ENERGY SVERIGE

88 providers of electricity to over 10,000 business customers in sweden

PREMIERTECH CHRONOS 72 standing out through a plethora of custom technical innovations

EUROPE OUTOOK ISSUE 02 A L S O T H I S I S S U E : R O S H E N | M I N E S T O | E C O P H O S | D E L O P O R T S

European Autumn Gas Conference Grange St Paul’s Hotel London UK 28 - 30 October 2014

EUROPE’S PREMIER EVENT FOR SENIOR GAS PROFESSIONALS 2014 Conference Programme Highlights: Trading, Finance & Investment In Gas: Is There Anything Left in Europe – or Shall We All Just Move to Asia…? Global Market Outlook: Has the Context of European Security of Supply Totally Changed? Supplier Strategies: What are the Choices for Europe, and Where Will Supply Come From? Focus on LNG: All Eyes on LNG: Will Europe Remain a Key Global LNG Market? Policy & Regulation: An Audience With… the Politicians and the Regulators Demand-Side Innovation: The Changing Face of Gas Use in Europe Confirmed speakers include: Marco Alverà, Chief Midstream Officer, Eni

Julio Castro, Head of Global Gas & Trading and Origination, Iberdrola

Stephen Asplin, Chief Commercial Officer, Power & Gas, E.ON Global Commodities SE

Jogchum Brinksma, Managing Director, Citigroup Global Commodities

To find out more about delegate participation, please contact Laurence Allen, Marketing Manager at laurenceallen@dmgevents.com or call +44(0) 203 615 0390 www.theeagc.com Gold Sponsor:

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W E l C o m E Moving Towards Economic Stability

EDITORIAL

welcome to the 2nd edition of europe outlook magazine. this month’s magazine comes fully loaded with interesting content from some of europe’s biggest oligopoly companies who are spearheading the drive towards global growth, continued innovation and productivity. germany, the united kingdom and Belgium have all seen stable increases in gDp, which has meant companies operating in those countries have reason to believe that now is the time to begin looking at expansion. our front cover feature this issue is an exclusive interview with Brother International europe’s executive Director of services & solutions, Ian metcalfe, who discusses brand evolution over the last century, and how Brother has become the globally recognised innovative technology brand it is today. on page 42, we take an in-depth look at oracle emea, showcasing how the brand is changing the way mobile communications are made secure and how social media is changing enterprise business. the feature includes interviews with the Vice presidents of product strategy, product Development, security & Identity solutions and many more spokespeople. and for those of you with a sweet tooth, roshen is the article for you. these ukrainian confectionary giants have a 320-strong product range and have become one of the world’s largest manufacturers of sweet products. This issue, our investment profile takes a closer look at Holland and why numerous european, american and asian companies have established their facilities in the netherlands. holland also boasts europe’s largest and most important seaport in rotterdam, and europe’s highest ranked airport for both cargo and passenger transport - schiphol airport. we also take a closer look at the tourism highlights in europe, according to the top ten locations to visit as voted by european Best Destinations. In our second feature, we move from famous locales to food, examining the growing trend of organic meat production in scandinavia, in an interview with svenskt Butikskött, who have made the transition from mainstream meat provider to organic meat production with great success. “I think anyone who makes products has this simultaneous joy and, almost, shame looking at it. You look at it all day Matt Bone and all you can see is all these things you Editor, Outlook Publishing want to make better” - Ben silbermann, founder of pinterest

Editor: matt Bone matthew.bone@outlookpublishing.com Sub-editor: emily Jarvis emily.jarvis@outlookpublishing.com

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In this issue of Europe Outlook...

outLooK EXcLuSiVE

BROThER Brother Imprints on History

An exclusive interview with Ian Metcalfe, Executive Director of Services & Solutions at Brother International Europe

t E c H n o L o G Y

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22 28

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nEWS

All the latest top stories across the month from Europe

Top 10 European Best Destinations

Over the next two issues, we will be taking a closer look at the tourism highlights in Europe, according to the top ten locations to visit as voted by European Best Destinations

SvEnSkT BuTikSkÖTT Organic Scandinavia

With attitudes towards meat production changing in Europe, the Nordic Region’s farmers and producers are turning towards generating greater quantities of organic meat produce

invESTMEnT PROfilE Holland

Europe Outlook takes an inside look at Holland’s investment and business potential

ShOWCaSing lEading COMPaniES Tell us your story and we’ll tell the world

ORaClE EMEa Oracle in Europe

Oracle has become one of the largest technology companies in the world on the strength of its extensive portfolio of software and hardware products to facilitate this simplification

ManuFactuRinG

ECOPhOS Europe’s Phosphate Experts

EcoPhos discuss why the Phosphorous compounds are essential for the animal food and fertiliser industries

EnERgi SvERigE Northern Lights

Energi Sverige provides electricity to over 10,000 business customers in Sweden

L o G i S t i c S

PREMiER TECh ChROnOS Premier Tech Chronos Premier Tech strongly believes that the driving force for the company’s success has been their team

106

QuinTEnS gROuP Made in Belgium

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ChiPSTERS Gone Fishing

Quintens Group’s most important attractions are its customer service, quality products and local bakeries

dElOPORTS The Black Sea Bastion

DELOPORTS is a holding company that owns and operates container, grain terminals and bunkering services in Russia

F o o d & d R i n K

uniTEd CaST BaR Rock the Cast Bar

To date, United Cast bar hold the record for the world’s largest continuous cast iron bar

Chipsters bring quality foods to the Finnish archipelago

R E S o u R c E S

MinESTO Making Waves around the Globe

Minesto is a marine energy technology company with a patented technology for cost eﬃcient electricity production from tidal and ocean currents

ROShEn Perfection Wrapped in Chocolate

Europe Outlook spoke with the Head of Public Relations at ROSHEN Confectionary Corporation about the sweet success it has seen in Europe

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aMREST Everything is Possible

With over 750 category leading restaurants, AmRest have ambitious plans for growing their portfolio

EvEnTS

Europe Outlook highlights upcoming events on the continent

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A u t o m o t iv e

Apollo Tyres to Expand into Eastern Europe Apollo Tyres plans to invest 500 million euros to construct a green field facility in Eastern Europe as part of its overseas expansion plans. The board of directors of the leading automotive tyre manufacturer had already cleared this investment and the facility will be functional by 2017-18, according to Neeraj Kanwar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Apollo Tyres. Addressing a press conference, he said that the new factory would mainly cater to the Original Equipment (OE) segment in Europe, which is becoming a critical market to the company. The company is yet to indentify the location of the project. Apollo already has an R&D facility for the car and SUV segment in Europe. Apart from this, on the Indian operations the company would invest roughly Rs 2,000 crore in next three years to further consolidate its market share. The local plan includes expansion of the green field facility in Chennai and Kalamassery plant in Kerala. Apollo plans to increase the production capacity of Chennai plant to 9,000 truck radials from the current 6,000. “Rs 1,500 crore investment is needed for this,” Kanwar said. The company has transformed the Kalamassery plant for exclusively producing Off the Road (OTR) tyres and production is on. It now produces 30 tonnes of tyre on a daily basis from here. Kalamassery plant, which is one of the oldest tyre plants in India, will be fully revamped to cater to the overseas demand in the OTR segment. Kanwar said that Rs

500 crore will be invested for the renovation and expansion. Apollo has recently started operations in Thailand, targeting the ASEAN market. It also started operations in UAE and Australia [apart from Brazil]. The company now exports to 100 plus companies from its plants in India, Europe and South Africa. He said that Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and America are the major markets as these areas contribute 38% of the consolidated revenue. The company had acquired Vredestein in the Netherlands in 2009 and in 2006 it acquired Dunlop Tyres International in South Africa. In 2013, the company had sold off the South African facility and the brand rights. Kanwar said that the advent of Chinese tyres was the major reason behind this sell off. In 2006, import of Chinese tyres to South Africa was just 5% of the total market size, but now this is 55%. In India, 20% of the replacement segment of cars is dominated by the Chinese companies. Kanwar added that the company has a two-prong strategy for further advancement: a) investing in marketing and creating brand image and b) investing in R&D.

Business

BSkyB in £5bn Deal to Create Sky Europe BSkyB is paying £4.9bn to take over Rupert Murdoch’s pay TV companies in Germany and Italy. The move was announced along with the company’s annual results, which show pre-tax profits fell slightly to £1.2bn from last year’s £1.26bn. BSkyB also reported revenues rose by 7%, with strong demand “across the board” for its services. It said Sky Sports viewing share was at a sevenyear high, boosted by the open race for the Premier League title. Part of BSkyB - 39% - is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. That company owns 100% of Sky Italia and 57% of Sky Germany. Mr Murdoch wants to sell these to BSkyB to free up cash for 21st Century Fox, which was trying to buy media giant Time Warner –this has since been withdrawn. BSkyB broadcasts to 10 million homes in the UK. A combined Sky Europe would have 20 million customers. The company hopes the new structure will save it £200m by the end of the second financial year with further savings to come. BSkyB shares fell almost 4% on the news, as it means higher debt levels and a stop to its current practice of buying back shares.

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Economy

to pick up despite firm signs elsewhere of a strengthening economy. Average weekly pay (including bonuses) in the three months to April expanded by just 0.7 percent year-on-year. This was below expectations and down from 1.9 percent in the three months to March. “It is becoming harder for people to get by as average wages continue to fall behind the rising cost of living. Ministers may have moved on from Britain’s living standards crisis but it’s still the top concern for families,” Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC union, said in a statement.

“An economic recovery based on shrinking pay packets is not one built to last.” Young Britons have been hit hard by the rise in living costs, with a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) finding that “the recession and its aftermath have been much harder on the young than the old.” Between 2007-2008 and 20122013, real (inflation-adjusted) median household income among 22-30 year olds fell by 13 percent. In comparison, income fell 7 percent among 31-59 year olds, and remained stable for those aged 60 and over. This slide in real wages was driven, firstly, by a fall of 4 percentage points in employment of those in their 20s, the IFS said. The employment level remained unchanged among 31-59 year olds. Secondly, young peoples’ real median pay fell by 15 percent, while for people between the ages of 3150, pay fell just 6 percent.

luxury clothing, sportswear and pharmaceuticals, as the product carries a higher profit margin than paper. The company is also aiming to reduce debt by about a third to $1.6 billion within two years as it cuts costs, according to Chief Executive

Officer Steve Binnie. Net debt was $2.29 billion at the end of June, down from $2.33 billion a year ago. The return to profit was “particularly encouraging” as the third quarter is the company’s weakest, Binnie told reporters on a conference call. “Demand is typically lower in Europe and North America due to the summer holidays” and planned maintenance. Profit will increase in the “seasonally stronger” fourth quarter, the company said. Sappi stock has advanced about 28 percent in 2014, on track for its biggest yearly gain since 2006. Sappi is a global company focused on providing dissolving wood pulp, paper pulp and paper based solutions to its direct and indirect customer base across more than 100 countries.

Cost of Living in UK Rises, Affects Young People It has been reported that UK inflation rose much faster than expected in June, with consumer prices expanding by 1.6 percent year-onyear. The information comes as a new research looking at household incomes revealed that young people had been especially hard hit by the financial crisis. The rising cost of clothing, food and non-alcoholic drinks helped drive inflation higher, which Howard Archer, Chief UK Economist at IHS Global Insight, said was “disappointing news” for consumers: “The rise back up in inflation squeezes consumers’ purchasing power, especially as earnings growth currently remains muted and relapsed in April,” he said in a note. Low wage growth has plagued Britain’s economic recovery, failing Manufacturing

Sappi Reports Quarterly Profit as Cost Cuts Offset Weak Prices Sappi Ltd., the world’s biggest producer of dissolving wood pulp, reported a third quarter profit as cost cutting helped offset weaker prices in Europe and North America. Net income advanced to $17 million in the three months through June, compared with a loss of $47 million a year ago, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement. Sales rose to $1.48 billion from $1.42 billion. Sappi is increasing its focus on dissolving pulp, used to make

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Munich’s Technical University Switches Masters to English Language ne of Germany’s top universities wants to ditch German and switch almost all of its master’s programmes to English in the next six years, prompting fears that the academic standing of the German language is under serious threat. Munich’s Technical University (TU), one of the highest ranked in Germany, already uses English in 30 of its 99 master’s courses. Now the board of trustees has followed a recommendation by the university’s president, Wolfgang Herrmann, to switch to English for most other master’s modules by 2020. “English is the lingua franca in academia and of the economy,” Herrmann told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. He said it was important to prepare students for a professional life in which they would be expected to speak English. Herrmann also said he wanted to send a “strong signal” that would allow TU to compete for the brightest master’s students globally. A spokesman for the university told The Local the TU did not have a target for the number of modules it would offer in English. He added the plans were based on demands from students. “We want to expand our offers in English. This will not affect all modules,” the spokesman said. The university declined to give further details.

Students Sceptical But Sebastian Biermann, chair of TU’s student parliament, disputed

that students had called for English across the board. “This came from the university’s management, not from students or the university’s departments,” he told The Local. While Biermann said student representatives were open to more English, “generally switching all master’s degrees to English is something we view rather critically”. Biermann said the reform made sense for some departments like computer sciences, where English is already common. It was not the right solution for courses like constructional engineering, he said, where textbooks and legal requirements were mostly in German. Switching TU master’s programmes to English also requires fluency among academic and administrative staff and more language support for students. Biermann said students doubted this could be achieved by 2020.

high-level languages,” Singhammer wrote to Herrmann. Singhammer warned German should not be “dwarfed” until it was no longer an academic language: “Abandoning German as an academic language poses the risk of economic disadvantages,” Singhammer added. “Businesses again and again point to the relationship between knowledge of the German language and the purchase of German products.” Singhammer said the university was making it harder to promote the academic use of German, something the German Parliament said last year it wanted to do.

‘Publish in English or perish in German’

Last month, humanities and social sciences scholars from more than 60 universities gathered in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia, to debate the German gets ‘dwarfed’ declining importance of the German language in their field. Among the Johannes Singhammer, a Munich lawmaker who serves as deputy speaker issues they discussed was the idea that professors had to “publish in English or of the German parliament for the perish in German”. Christian Social Union (CSU), asked the Additionally, a 2010 study by higher university to reconsider its decision. education think-tank, the HIS Institute, “It would be the wrong signal to found that for German academics, send if the impression was given English-speaking publications were that German was no longer suitable “often the only way to be noticed by for technical studies and ready to be the international scientific community”. discarded on the scrapheap of former

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A u t o m o t iv e

BMW Beats Profit Forecast, See Record Sales New models and strong sales in China have helped BMW to beat secondquarter profit forecasts and keep it on track to remain the world’s biggest luxury carmaker under the challenge of its German rivals. Sales by the core BMW brand rose 8.3 percent to 458,000 vehicles, a record high, as new models such as the 4-series coupe and 2-series compact helped the group to tap stronger demand in China and Europe. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) jumped 26 percent to 2.6 billion euros (£2.61 billion), the company said, topping a forecast of 2.23 billion in a Reuters poll of analysts. “This is a major beat and we remain convinced that the street is underestimating BMW’s medium- and long-term earnings power,” Londonbased ISI Group analysts said in a note. Luxury carmakers weathered a six-year sales slump in Europe thanks in part to strong demand from emerging markets. But signs of a slowdown in some of those countries and a still fragile recovery in Europe has raised concerns about future demand. BMW also faces strong competition from arch rivals Audi, part of the Volkswagen group and MercedesBenz, owned by Daimler. BMW’s quarterly automotive EBIT margin, the best profitability gauge for peer comparison, came in at 11.7 percent, exceeding the 7.9 percent achieved by Mercedes-Benz, and 9.9 percent by Audi, as well as its own 8-10 percent target range. Investments in new models and technology to cut carbon dioxide emissions will see automotive profitability eroded in the rest of the year while remaining within the target

range, Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner said. BMW has quietly repositioned some of its best-selling models upmarket. The coupe and convertible version of its 3-series have been discontinued and replaced with vehicles badged as a 4-series, commanding higher list prices. BMW has also expanded and renewed its range of luxury off-roaders. Sales of the new X5, which hit showrooms in late 2013, rose 29.7 percent in the first half, the company said. The sale of more luxury off-roaders will help offset lower profits from BMW’s growing range of smaller cars such as the 2-series Active Tourer and new versions of the Mini. The proportion of smaller, lower-margin cars will rise to more than 40 percent of the group’s overall vehicle sales from 25-30 percent currently, CEO Reithofer said. In response, BMW is reining in development costs by cooperating with rivals. The group will continue pooling some component purchasing with Daimler, and a decision on whether to build a sports car with Toyota is expected to be made this year, Reithofer added. Munich-based BMW is targeting a significant sales increase to 2 million vehicles or more this year, after delivering a record 1.96 million Mini, Rolls Royce and BMW cars in 2013. The company also reiterated its goal to raise pre-tax profit by up to 10 percent.

Business

Walgreens to Buy Remaining Stake in Alliance Boots U.S. giant Walgreens announced a closeto £6 billion ($10.1 billion) deal to buy the remaining stake in U.K. drugstore chain Alliance Boots in early August. The company confirmed that there would be “several updates” related to the long-anticipated transaction in an announcement. It is unlikely to include plans for a controversial tax inversion, according to one source. Walgreens had been tipped as the next big U.S. company to try and cut its tax bill by taking over a European company and relocating its headquarters. Such deals are under a political shadow in the U.S., with President Barack Obama openly backing a bill to claim back some of the tax saved through previous deals, which is currently deadlocked in Congress. Many large corporates have responded by calling for the U.S. tax system to be reformed. Walgreens bought 45 percent of Alliance Boots in 2012, and will now try to complete its full takeover between February and April 2015. It will gain a stronger international presence, and possibly become the largest pharmaceutical distribution network in the world, as a result.

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over the next two issues, we will be taking a closer look at the tourism highlights in europe, according to the top ten locations to visit as voted by european Best Destinations Writer Emily Jarvis SOURCE: European Best Destinations

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events enliven the annual cultural and sporting calendars, culminating in ‘são João’, the city’s very own feast. at night, porto turns into a new and different city, with entertainment and leisure opportunities that cater to all tastes and excitement that bubbles up to fill the streets with energy and cheerfulness. there’s a wide offer of lodging ranges from well-known hotel chains, charming guesthouses, welcoming hostels and comfortable apartments. as the main gateway to the north of portugal and three other world heritage sites, guimarães, foz côa and the Douro Valley, a whole world of experiences await visitors. each day can be quite unlike the day before – one day you might be in a world heritage city centre, the next at the seaside or on a wine tasting trip up the Douro valley, or hiking through the national park or exploring an important religious site, such as fátima or santiago de compostela.

Sunset

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in Port

source: www.europeanbestdestinations.org

PoRto, PoRtuGaL

porto is one of europe’s oldest tourist destinations. Its wealth of monumental and artistic heritage, port wine, open-air leisure spaces and cultural life are just some of the reasons to visit this city. at any time of the day, 365 days of the year, porto has a special charm for anyone visiting the city for the first time, as it does for those coming back for a second visit, to discover a city that is simultaneously modern and authentic. In 1996, the historical centre of Porto was classified by unesco as a world heritage site. the city unfolds along the river bank and the sea shore, to reveal charming vistas, inviting esplanades and all the pleasures of the outdoors, framed by its green spaces. whilst maintaining its welcoming and conservative nature, the city is, at the same time, contemporary and creative. this can be seen in its streets, its architectures and its monuments, its museums, its leisure spaces, its esplanades and its shopping areas which run from the traditional to the modern and exclusive.

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the impressions of many foreigners who live in Zagreb, business people and tourists can be summed up in a single sentence: a large city which managed to stay romantic and safe. there are unlimited possibilities for visiting music and theatre events, art exhibitions, museums, sporting events and enjoying pleasant walks, interesting architecture, plentiful parks in the centre of the city, pedestrian zones and the atmosphere. spacious pedestrian zones with many open cafes with garden and street terraces scattered all over the city add to the charm of Zagreb hospitality. a large number of cultural and other institutions are located in the centre of the city, where everything is within walking distance. Zagreb is the city of international fairs, conventions, business meetings (Zagreb fair and congresses), as well as sporting events. there are more than 6,000 beds in hotels, some of them belonging to world-famous hotel chains. the number of small and familyowned hotels and hostels is increasing. they all share the same level of professionalism and hospitality. Zagreb restaurants are renowned for their high quality cuisine, largely consisting of

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mediterranean and continental dishes, but also international specialties. The rich cultural life is reflected in numerous theatre performances, operas and operettas, concerts of modern, classical and jazz music and many festivals. events in recent years have been very interesting and attract the attention of the performing arts scene thanks to live acts by worldfamous artists. Zagreb is a favourite shopping destination, boasting large shopping malls in the very heart of the city, which sit alongside small local shops. from distinctively croatian products, along with books, guidebooks and art paintings - we recommend wine, confectionery products and natural cosmetics, artefacts, handmade textile, glass and wooden products. there is also quality clothing, shoes and jewellery made by local designers. today, Zagreb has many discotheques, clubs, pubs, beer halls and lounge bars, night clubs and cocktail bars, several jazz clubs, plenty of cafes and restaurants which, among other things, also offer good entertainment. those who prefer trying their luck can have fun in the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s casinos.

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Town Hall (Rathaus)

the costume rental outlets art for art and lambert hofer. Viennese designers such as michel mayer or thomas kirchgrabner also tailor exciting robes for a visit to the ball. culture is always combined with pleasure in Vienna: an evening at the ball begins with a visit to a restaurant to dine on traditional Viennese cuisine. a rousing night at the ball is often rounded off at a sausage stand. Vienna’s nightlife, with its club culture that is always diverse and lively, is proof that people like to dance not only at balls. modern, young festivals are also booming in Vienna in all areas. whether art, fashion, design, dance, music from pop to blues and electronic music, the festivals offer something to suit every taste. a number of other festivals are also celebrating an anniversary in 2014. the Vienna art week and the Vienna Blues spring are celebrating their tenth birthday, while the pop festival on Karlsplatz is being held for the fifth time. the mak – austrian museum of applied arts/contemporary art is also celebrating in 2014 – namely its 150th anniversary.

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ViEnna, auStRia

Vienna is the city of the waltz, as it was 200 years ago. During the time of the congress of Vienna (1814-15), Viennese ball culture and waltz melodies experienced the height of their ascendancy. In those days, the imperial city was full of music. Dance palaces and ballrooms sprang up everywhere. these so-called “etablissements” could hold up to 10,000 people. Ball culture remains inseparably associated with Vienna. around 450 balls are held every year – from the noble traditional ball to the relaxed faschingsgschnas. the ball season reaches its peak in January and february, at the time of carnival. the majority of the traditional balls are held in Vienna’s Imperial palace. particularly prominent is the opera Ball held in the Vienna state opera. the Viennese ball also has a modern face with the crazy rosenball of the gay-lesbian community and the internationally famous life Ball. a glittering summer ball is the fête Impériale in the spanish riding school. The perfect clothing for a ball is offered by

in Vienna

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for the lovers of the mediterranean, the island of cyprus is an absolute must. the legendary birthplace of aphrodite is famed for its spectacular beaches, its breathtaking sceneries and the warmth of its people. It offers the visitor a large selection of unique activities that can fulfil almost any wish. colourful orange groves surround stunning ancient ruins, steep cliffs embrace idyllic coves with turquoise waters and shady pine covered mountains are brought to life with the sounds of the church bells. But apart from offering a serene environment for the visitor that needs to escape the fast rhythms of the busy world capitals, cyprus is at the same time a cosmopolitan place. Its towns are filled with glamorous restaurants, trendy boutiques contemporary art galleries and artistic cafes which alternate with the narrow windy old streets that offer a glimpse of times past. Lefkosia (Nicosia) is the island’s ten-century old capital. It is situated

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in the middle of the island and is a busy commercial and business centre. Its old quarter is surrounded by a Venetian sandstone wall, a vivid remembrance of nicosia’s turbulent, medieval history. wandering around the narrow streets with the overhanging balconies and the beautiful pedestrianised precincts is an experience that should not be missed. st. John’s cathedral with its magnificent frescoes, the Cyprus museum which narrates cyprus’s intriguing past and the Byzantine museum are some of the highlights of the cypriot capital. The town has a lot more to offer in terms of entertainment and places to visit as well as a unique countryside with beautiful serene villages where the visitor can be introduced to the ways of rural cyprus, friendly monasteries and Byzantine churches with unique frescoes that are included in the unesco’s world heritage list and pine clad mountains with numerous well designated nature paths.

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We continue with the rest of the top 10 in the next issue...

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source: www.europeanbestdestinations.org

BudaPESt, HunGaRY

Budapest is a city full of surprises and wonder, with its lively centre, pretty parks, majestic river, tall church spires and lavish spas. one of the most exciting cities in the world, Budapest is full of secrets to uncover, hidden spots to explore and old favourites to revisit. this is the city where being bored is not an option. there are a million ways to explore Budapest: on foot, by bus, tram and underground, on water, by bike or even by an amphibious vehicle. It is recommended to start with the magnificent Buda castle and castle District. as Budapest is part of the unesco world heritage, you won’t need hiking boots to climb gellért hill to enjoy breathtaking views of the city from the citadel. cross the river for the most grandiose building on the pest embankment, the parliament. for sacred wonders, visit the tallest building in the city, Saint Stephen’s Basilica, and the fifth largest synagogue in the world, the Dohány street synagogue. heroes’ square will give you a peek into the romantic past of the country, and in memento park you’ll have a chance to enjoy a modern history lesson in the open. when you’re done with the must-sees, leave the main streets behind, and let the city unfold its secrets. plenty of design shops, tiny parks, terraced cafés, and architectural treasures wait in the nooks and crannies.

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organic Scandinavia with attitudes towards meat production changing in europe, the nordic region’s farmers and producers are turning towards generating greater quantities of organic meat produce Writer Matt Bone SOURCE: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL - Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau)

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SOURCE: www.fibl.org

ided by years of supportive government policies towards organic practices, the majority of nordic consumers already have a strong affinity with provenance and sustainability, and are well-informed of the health-related benefits of natural and organic products. the region’s organic food and drink market alone is estimated to be worth about eur 2 billion (in 2011), according to leading organic data house organic monitor; with organic food accounting for more than 5% of all food bought in Denmark and sweden (compared to 2% in the uk), whilst norway boasts the highest per capita consumption of organic food. swedish consumer interest in organic produce continues to increase and is gaining ground in the market against conventional food products. Imports account for about 50% of the organic sales in sweden, but there is also a growing demand for more home-grown organic meat products such beef, pork, venison and lamb. the variety and availability in sweden is still relatively low but remains higher than in norway, which is currently lagging behind most european countries in terms of availability of organic products. finland however, have about 40 % of the farms incountry practicing organic animal production, but less than half of the animal farms have certified organic animal production. this is mostly due to two facts: firstly, converting conventional to organic production is not a prerequisite for receiving financial subsidies from the government and secondly, is the fact that the market is underdeveloped for organic animal products. Therefore, a significant number of organic farms do not bring any organic products into the market.

Spreading the Organic Message exhibitions and events highlighting the growing trend of organic farming and produce in scandinavia have grown over recent years. Diversified communications uk, event organiser of natural products scandinavia, launched a major new international trade show for the nordic organic food Industry last year to strong plaudits all round. the 2nd nordic organic food fair will take place alongside the 3rd annual natural products scandinavia event at malmö mässan in malmö, sweden, on the 2627 october. the nordic organic food fair comes as a direct response to feedback received from visitors and exhibitors following the highly successful launch of natural products scandinavia in 2012, which attracted attendees from over 60 different countries. with over 300 exhibitors showcasing organic produce and information on the organic industry, the event is set

to host several thousand visitors. with strong attendances, the organic produce industry in scandinavia will have a platform to show the rest of the world that having organic produce in the market place is no longer a niche option, but a burgeoning one. with changes in attitudes to meat production and the rise of the organic meat market, one family run business has made the transition from mainstream meat production to organic meat production. svenskt Butikskött, the gotland-based producer, who for over 30 years have been proudly raising high quality livestock for the mainstream consumer market, has begun to work with the growing organic and locally produced markets in scandinavia. europe outlook spoke with thomas Östlund, managing Director of svenskt Butikskött, about the changes in the meat industry in the region and how being organic has rejuvenated the family business.

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Svenskt Butikskött have been one of the top providers of meat products and head of cattle in Gotland, Sweden, for over 30 years. The company has been breeding veal, lamb, pork and beef for both the consumer market and the breeding market, and since 2004 the family run business has been increasing its stock to now include different breeds of cattle such as the Charolais, Hereford and Angus. Thomas Östlund, Managing Director of Svenskt Butikskött, says the change in company direction in 2004 as the catalyst that really put the company in contention as the top farmer in the region: “The meat market in 2004 was changing considerably in Scandinavia and the traditional ways of garnering business were no longer working in the modern climate. Big businesses were looking to come in and set up factories that would sell directly to the local stores and chains, whereas in the past, farmers such as ourselves would sell our produce direct to the stores. I saw the chance for us to sell our produce directly to the big companies and keep a constant revenue stream flowing into the company, while maintaining our ever-present quality and animal welfare measures.”

Changing With the Times

With any consumer produce market, competing in both volume and quality are the two biggest factors for a company’s success. Östlund saw that while Svenskt Butikskött were competing in quality produce, they could not match the volume that the bigger companies were generating. This new found competition was then coupled with higher regulations and laws governing the sale of meat and produce in Sweden, and Östlund was not prepared to

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SOURCE: www.fibl.org

substitute the welfare of the heard in order to meet volume demands. these changes prompted Östlund to make the move turning svenskt Butikskött into a consistent organic meat supplier and begin to work with the growing organic and locally produced markets in scandinavia. “one of the things we really pride ourselves on is the standard of welfare and care we give our livestock. here on the island, the animals grow up under the supervision of the knowledgeable breeders and farmers, who do not compromise on the quality of grazing or the livestock’s wellbeing. By trying to compete volume-wise with the big companies, we would not be able to care and raise our stock the way we have always done, and this was non-negotiable,” explains Östlund.

A Breed Apart

The meat market in 2004 was changing considerably in Scandinavia and the traditional ways of garnering business were no longer working in the modern climate”

Svenskt Butikskött offers a varied and wide selection of traditional cuts of meat from strong pedigree cattle, and have now begun to offer cuts from crossbreed animals that offer a suitable mix for both breeders and meat production alike. animals are calm with a fine melange of meat quality that will really taste superior when compared to single breed cuts. on the lamb side, svenskt Butikskött primarily use gotland sheep, which are widely found across the island. with it being the most common breed, farmers and breeders have managed to carefully cultivate a sheep that as well as producing fine tasting lamb, gives a very beautiful and sought-after hide and wool. however, the main priority for svenskt Butikskött is to ensure that

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B u t i k S k ö t t

We have a strong respect for animals and nature and it is our duty to take care of the whole animal not just the meat, something that used to be a natural part of the job”

the animals are treated and cared for to the highest standard. “we have a strong respect for animals and nature and it is our duty to take care of the whole animal not just the meat, something that used to be a natural part of the job. today, that knowledge has been forgotten save for a few farmers and we are working to restore the old craft ways for future generations,” remarks Östlund.

Packaging the Product

grabbing the consumers attention is a key factor in the food industry and as the meat industry is one of the most competitive, it can be the difference between selling your produce and not. svenskt Butikskött have spent the time looking at ways to increase consumer revenue by transforming their packaging from run-of-the-mill, to something eye

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SOURCE: www.fibl.org

Attractive packaging is all well and good, but if the food tastes amazing then people will keep coming back to buy your produce”

catching that will make their product stand out from the fridge. as well as this change in consumer approach, Östlund looked to redesign the actual materials used in the packaging to find containers and trays that are carefully designed to maintain the flavour and quality of the meat. “our new trough ‘skin pack’ has a unique property to tenderise the meat right up until the package is opened. this means that the closer the best before date you go, the more tender the meat. It is important for our product to not only stand out from the crowd visually but also gastronomically. after all, attractive packaging is all well and good, but if the food tastes amazing then people will keep coming back to buy your produce,” reasons Östlund. svenskt Butikskött and the organic meat industry have seen strong success in the produce in scandinavia

thanks to the careful re-imagining of products and packaging, and a strong desire to see the family business Östlund’s father started three decades ago succeed. svenskt Butikskött have shown that quality is more important than quantity for an increasingly aware consumer market, who wishes to know where their food comes from and how it is produced. “the past few years have been successful for us in the organic and the locally produced meat market and this has been down to two key factors. firstly, changing the consumer’s perception of meat products for the better and secondly, by sticking to our business ideals of quality produce over quantity volumes. we don’t follow trends from other companies, we go our own way and show competitors that there is more than just one way to fatten a calf,” concludes Östlund.

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holland europe outlook takes a closer look at hollandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business and investment potential Writer Emily Jarvis SOURCE www. hollandtrade.com

PROfilE 22

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Conducive Innovation Environment holland’s open innovation approach and well organised public-private partnerships offer a favourable environment for companies looking for business acceleration. together with a mind-set of creativity, collaboration and reliability and a top scientific sector holland is able to guarantee the most important drivers in ‘innovation location’ choices for foreign investors.

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source: www. hollandtrade.com

he netherlands provides a strategic location to serve markets within europe, the middle east and africa. the central geographical position of the netherlands, combined with accessibility and an excellent infrastructure, are only some of the reasons why numerous european, american and asian companies have established their facilities in the netherlands. the port of rotterdam is europe’s largest and most important seaport, while schiphol airport is ranked as europe’s best airport for both cargo and passenger transport. the Netherlands is also classified as one of the most ‘wired’ countries in the world; a dynamic force in electronic commerce, communications and outsourcing. more than a decade of investment in high-speed internet, cable and digital communication systems, as well as the rapid adoption of state-of-the-art computer and cell phone technology, have created an ideal base for companies seeking to take advantage of modern technology.

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International Business Environment

WORLD LEADING EXPORTER OF AGRI-FOOD PRODUCTS

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The Netherlands, along Europe’s trading crossroads, is an obvious choice to locate a pan-European operation - whether it’s a European headquarters, a shared services centre, a customer care centre, a distribution and logistics operation, or an R&D facility. The country’s pro-business environment creates a gateway to Europe that helps international companies succeed throughout the continent. An international outlook and openness to foreign investment is firmly ingrained in the Dutch culture, and this has yielded a wealth of worldclass business partners who know how to deal with global business challenges in today’s economy.

The Netherlands is the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural products, after the USA. Together with the USA and France, the Netherlands is one of the world’s three leading producers of vegetables and fruit. It supplies a quarter of the vegetables that are exported from Europe. The agri-business is one of the driving forces behind the Dutch economy. At the same time, it poses challenges to the environment. In recent decades, farms became larger in scale and production became more intensive. As a result, fertilisers and manure made more impact on the countryside. Farming had to become more sustainable, the Dutch government said. Today, the Dutch agricultural sector is strongly focused on sustainability: it is a source of healthy, safe food that is produced with respect for the landscape and the environment.

Solid Workforce

Attractive Quality of Life

The Netherlands is proud to have a high standard of living, whilst maintaining an affordable life for its residents. The costs of living, housing, education and cultural activities are lower than in most Western-European countries. Furthermore, all sorts of cultural and leisure activities are open to both Dutch citizens and visitors alike. Whether it’s spending a leisurely afternoon on the beach, enjoying culinary delights or going to one of the city’s acclaimed theatres or opera houses, the new expatriate is soon made to feel that the Netherlands is a most welcoming and entertaining country.

SECTORS

The Netherlands features one of the most highly educated, flexible and motivated workforces in Europe. Dutch professionals are also among the most multilingual in the world, enabling them to successfully operate in companies across any industry, serving customers throughout the continent.

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STRONG IN LINKING CREATIVITY WITH BUSINESS

Today, Dutch creativity is producing pioneering architecture, design, music, TV, gaming and fashion. Rotterdam is the city of architecture and urban design. Eindhoven, the technological heart of the nation, is home to the Design Academy, declared the ‘School of Cool’ by Time Magazine. Delft hosts the largest and oldest academic programme in industrial design. Utrecht is home to the Gaming Institute and Amsterdam is a creative melting pot of communication, interactive design and fashion. The ArtEZ Institute of the Arts in Arnhem is known for its Fashion Biennale and internationally successful fashion designers.

The energy sector contributes substantially to Dutch national income, exports and employment. The government has therefore opted for a modern industry policy aimed at making better use of the economic opportunities for both green and grey energy. The Netherlands has embraced a courageous vision: by 2050, the country will have a sustainable, reliable and affordable energy system. As part of this, the Dutch aim to cut CO2 emissions by half to generate some 40 percent of electricity from sustainable sources like wind at sea and biomass by that time. Carbon emissions will be reduced by a combination which involves increasing the portion of renewable energy, energy saving, nuclear energy and Carbon Capture and Storage. By 2020, the European Renewable Energy Directive sets the target of 14% renewable energy. Renewable resources will play an

important role in the bio based economy. To stimulate renewable energy production, the government has earmarked an annual sum of € 1.4 billion from 2015, which represents a major step towards achieving the 2020 target. Innovation and public-private partnerships are key to the Dutch approach. The government, private sector, and academia co-operate on the following priority topics: energy savings in industry and the built environment, gas, smart grids, wind at sea, solar energy and bio energy. The Netherlands is experimenting with energy from waves, algae and biomass and the Dutch have developed innovative solutions in decentralised energy production in greenhouses, CO2 ‘recycling’ and waste heat utilisation for their energy intensive horticulture industry.

HIGH-TECH SECTOR TACKLING THE GLOBAL CHALLENGES OF TODAY

CHEMICAL PORTAL TO EUROPE

The chemicals industry is one of the leading business sectors in the Netherlands, making a significant contribution to the economy. The Netherlands is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of chemical products and services. Important raw materials are available or easy to supply while an extensive transportation network provides access to Europe and beyond. Some of the leading chemical companies in the Netherlands are AkzoNobel, Shell, DSM, Purac, MSD, and ECN. Research institutions include: TNO, Delft University, TwenteUniversity, Wageningen University and Eindhoven University.

The Netherlands’ centuries-old tradition of creativity, pragmatism, entrepreneurship, openness and collaboration forms a perfect fit for the high-tech systems and materials (HTSM) sector. Examples of Dutch ingenuity range from the sawmill through to the screw pump, from the microscope through to the submarine, from the 6-cylinder engine through to the Variomatic and from navigation systems through to systems that transform waste and food crops into energy. These qualities make the Netherlands the perfect place to find solutions to the challenges society is facing today in the areas of health and wellness, security, renewable energy, mobility and the climate. Solutions that, due to the complexity of the challenge, are primarily found by cross-overs in technology and collaboration. The high-tech sector includes a number of closely related industries including: the high-tech systems industries, automotive, aerospace and materials including steel. Dutch companies and knowledge institutes in the HTSM sector are renowned for their technological excellence and have become leaders in their market segments. Rapid innovation and collaboration across the value chain is imperative in this highly competitive and highly complex sector.

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SOURCE: www. hollandtrade.com

WORKING TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE, RELIABLE AND AFFORDABLE ENERGY SYSTEM

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WORLD’S LEADING SUPPLIER OF FLOWERS, PLANTS AND TREES The Dutch horticulture sector is a global trendsetter and the undisputed international market leader in flowers, plants, bulbs and reproductive material and the number three exporter in nutritional horticulture products. It forms the heart of an international network for floriculture, bulbs, and decorative trees as well as fruit and vegetables. The country’s important logistical hubs – such as the Port of Rotterdam and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol – its proximity to Europe’s 500 million consumers, plus the development of high-quality production methods have enabled the Dutch horticulture cluster to become this strong. The Dutch have created efficient supply chains that are able to deliver flowers inNew York that have been cut the very same day in the Netherlands. And, true to the Dutch entrepreneurial character, nurseries have been set up in countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, France and Portugal.

Horticulture makes a significant contribution to the country’s prosperity, through the considerable volumes and sheer quality of production, as well as via technological innovations. The Dutch approach to innovation and R&D is rather unique: companies, research institutes and governments work together on innovation projects and programmes in the so-called Golden triangle. Prime examples of innovations include intelligent greenhouses that can float on water, moving platforms, robots, innovative lighting, water- and waste-recycling, and greenhouses that generate more energy than they consume and thus contribute to a reduction in CO2. The current generation of greenhouses already generates approximately 10 percent of Holland’s power needs by using combined heat and power (CHP).

THE TRIPLE HELIX IN DUTCH LIFE SCIENCES HEALTH

Today, the Netherlands remains a major player in the global Life Sciences Health industries, with a strong technological position in molecular imaging, medical informatics, biopharmaceuticals, human and veterinary vaccines, regenerative medicine and biomaterials (biomaterial coatings in medical devices), medical technology and health infrastructure. The Dutch sector owes this position to collaboration, cooperation and coalition building between businesses, research institutes and universities, supported by government, linking research to product and business creation. Life Sciences Health belongs to the nine priority sectors identified by the Dutch Government. The country also boasts a national genomics programme and three large public-private programs on Pharmacotherapy, Translational Molecular Medicine and Regenerative Medicine. In these programs (worth over € 1 billion), large industries and SMEs collaborate with all the eight medical faculties – including the academic hospitals and the medical technology faculties of the three Technical Universities – on R&D projects close to the clinical practice. These programs will end in the years 2012 and 2013, but new initiatives have already been started up.

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The Netherlands plays a key role in the globalised economy, by connecting producers and consumers worldwide via sophisticated logistics. Success is based on a combination of cutting-edge infrastructure, world-class service providers, and a coastal location at the heart of Europe. Key factors are the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port and fourth-largest worldwide, and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, a major European air-freight and passenger hub. Both are supported by world-class logistics service providers and an extensive network of roads, railways, inland waterways and pipelines. This powerful combination has made the Netherlands the ‘Gateway to Europe’ accounting for significant quantities of European road- and water-transport. The Netherlands also makes extensive use of Information Technology to deliver optimised supply chain solutions in sectors where time is critical, such as food and flowers. In addition, the Netherlands is pioneering developments in environmentally sustainable logistics operations and silent logistics.

DUTCH WATER EXPERTISE

Climate change, expanding economies, and urbanisation are putting the world’s delta populations at risk. Dutch expertise is at hand, however, in the form of hydraulic engineering, flood control, flood protection, foundation technology and infrastructure. The Dutch are renowned for their ability to design and build storm surge barriers and levees, reclaim land through high-tech dredging and engineer entire coastal areas and harbours. The Dutch also excel at river engineering and maintenance and are pioneering climate adaptive construction, which allows houses to be built in flood-prone areas.

Further information on Holland can be found on the Netherland’s Enterprise Agency website: www.hollandtrade.com

At the same time, billions of people worldwide lack access to clean water and sanitary facilities. Dutch water technology, however, is making a difference. Water is collected, filtered and re-cycled with high levels of quality and service in an integrated cycle, with the focus on sustainable economic development. Dutch companies are recognised specialists in the treatment of industrial waste water and several consultancies are globally respected for their water treatment expertise. Dutch academia and the private sector invest heavily in water-related R&D, which has resulted in innovations including membrane technology, anaerobic water purification, membrane bioreactor (MBR - small scale and high quality) and Anammox technology.

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SOURCE: www. hollandtrade.com

LOGISTICS GATEWAY TO EUROPE AND BEYOND

L e a d i n g C o m p a n i e s urope outlook is a leading business to business publication that promotes and showcases the leading companies on the continent. The digital and print publications are aimed at boardroom and hands on decision-makers in a wide range of industries, reaching over 195,000 business executives every month. With over 11,000 unique visitors to our website on a weekly basis europe outlook is the platform to promote your business success. our bi-monthly magazine features leading companies and business executives by profiling their operations in their own words. Covering all aspects from supply chain, investments and developments, best practice, innovation, growth plans and future project and products we aim to promote all that is good about industry, economy and business. producing business profiles across all sectors and regions of europe we give companies the opportunity to tell their story to our readers. Read on for this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s profiles!

Emily Jarvis Sub-Editor

w w w . e u r o p e o u t l o o k m a g . c o m

If you want to enjoy the exposure and coverage we can offer please feel free to contact me and we can discuss the opportunity at length. Tell us your story and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll tell the world.

emily.jarvis@outlookpublishing.com

Brand Evolution

Co-founding Brothers Masayoshi and Jitsuichi Yasui

Writer Matt Bone Project Manager James Mitchell

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Founded in Japan over a century ago by two brothers Masayoshi and Jitsuichi Yasui, today, Brother is a globally recognised innovative technology brand. The company now has operations in more than 40 countries and its products are sold in more than 100 countries worldwide. The story began with sewing machines, as Brotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first major manufacturing and exporting success and from this strong start the organisation has continually developed and expanded its offering.

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Today, Brother has a much broader product portfolio including printers, multifunction devices, fax machines and labelling machines alongside its key heritage product, sewing machines. New products for an increasingly digital and smart technology era include mobile print solutions, through to OmniJoin, an HD web conferencing solution. Brother is proud of its history and excited about where it is going to.

A Strong Presence in Europe

Brother International Europe (BIE) is the European head office for Brother in Europe, based in Manchester, UK, and part of the global Brother Group. The role of BIE is to provide strategic centralised support to each of these European operations.

When you look at what Brother has achieved in Europe in the last few decades, it is truly impressiveâ&#x20AC;? Ian Metcalfe, Executive Director, Services & Solutions at BIE

Since the 1950s Brother has built a strong presence in Europe. BIE has sales offices in over 20 European countries, a central sewing machine HQ for Europe based in Germany, plus production and recycling facilities in the UK and Slovakia, with a workforce of over 1,265 people. Ian Metcalfe, Executive Director, Services & Solutions at BIE, believes the growth seen over the last 50 years in Europe stems from two reasons: strategic diversification and local presence. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you look at what Brother has achieved in Europe in the last few decades, it is truly impressive. From beginnings in sewing machines and typewriters, multifunctional printing equipment, through to responding

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B r o t h E r

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CODEHOUSE

odehouse take pride in providing straightforward, measured and common sense

advice. we deliver best practice solutions through a transparent project process with clear deliverables mapped to business benefits. codehouse helped Brother make the transition to a large-scale, coordinated web platform delivering a flexible and robust multi-site

to today’s increasing need for mobility, it is clear that ability to evolve has underpinned success. Brother has been driven by a need to help customers get the best out of their daily lives. this has been achieved through carefully approached diversification of a product portfolio and country specific insight, gained through the network of offices that span europe, each listening and responding to customer requirements in their country of operation. “percentage growth in the eu has been double digit or just below over

Percentage growth in the EU has been double digit or just below over the last 10 years. We’ve been growing steadily”

the last 10 years. we’ve been growing steadily. since 2004, BIe has worked closely with sales and official partner networks to identify areas of the market that were ripe for new and innovative products. our Japanese headquarters drove growth and pushed for the business to really make a footprint in the european market. “In 2013, the eu turnover for Brother was €1.2 billion, and when you consider this was on the back of a double dip recession for the majority of europe, this is significant,” says metcalfe.

solution in line with Brother’s business objectives. as well as providing a user-friendly online portal to all its services, Brother’s new web platform also benefits from real-time integration with business systems. so if you’re thinking big, then talk to codehouse. we can help define your website architecture so that it is scalable and resilient yet agile enough to cater for today’s changing digital trends. we can streamline your online processes by integrating your web platform into your business systems. we will work closely with you to align your business objectives to the digital world so that you can start communicating with your partners and customers in a way that reflects today’s complex digital ecosystems. codehouse 39 houndsditch london ec3a 7DB Tel +44 (0) 207 398 1491 Email info@codehousegroup.com

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supporting sohos and smBs

FM LOGISTIC

Brother has positioned itself as one of the market leaders in the small Office Home Office (SOHO) print arena, with compact, reliable print and multifunction device ranges, aimed at businesses with 1-10 employees. With floor space at a premium for a soho business, Brother looked at new ways to allow print and multifunction devices to become even smaller and more convenient for the user. standalone printers, copiers, fax machines and scanners took up valuable space in a soho working environment, signalling a scenario that was logistically and financially unviable for the savvy smaller operator.

FM Logistic will always be “at Brother’s side!”

or 15 years now, fm logistic have been advising and supporting Brother International europe in implementing efficient supply chain solutions. In 1999, for Brother’s french market, fm logistic set up an experienced team in arras for warehousing and delivery of all orders. following this initial success, Brother went on to integrate its Belgian and Dutch logistics. In 2005, Brother create a centralised inventory for all products with low rotation for markets in western europe, for which fm logistic manages deliveries in u.k., Ireland, germany, spain, portugal, Italy, switzerland, austria, Denmark, sweden, norway and finland, while managing all customs processes as well.

More than two thirds of Brother’s products are being sold in the SOHO market which makes up 70% of our customer base” with this market increasing to make up a sizeable proportion of the customer base, Brother implemented a range of cost effective, reliable, print and all-inone or ‘multifunction devices’, solely marketed for the soho including inkjet and laser technology to complement a customer’s print volume requirement. “Brother listened to the needs of the soho and created stylish, feature-rich, print solutions that would offer the same level of highend printing options, and support scanning and copying requirements, without taking up the same amount of space in the office as an assortment of ad hoc products,”

explains metcalfe, adding: “more than two thirds of Brother’s products are being sold in the soho market which makes up 70% of our customer base.” with firm roots established in the soho market, Brother is currently focussing on supporting the small and medium Business (smB), meeting print requirement where 50-100 employees are in operation, and a segment that accounts for c. 30% of Brother’s current customer base. “while the soho customer might only print what is absolutely necessary in order to keep printing costs down, smBs have begun to print more materials, yes to a lesser

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satisfied with our quality, in 2008 Brother entrusted its warehouse for spain and portugal to us. we are currently operating e-commerce services and the entire distribution for orders on the Iberian peninsula. more recently, in 2012, Brother entrusted us with its warehouse in russia. our partnership with Brother is an example of shared success. the quality and professionalism of Brother’s teams combined with the know-how of fm logistic have enabled us to build an exceptionally efficient supply chain. I extend my thanks to Brother for its renewed trust. fm logistic will always be “at Brother’s side!”

Jean-christophe machet ceo fm logistic Tel +33 3 44 38 31 92 Email hcheucle@fmlogistic.com

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The best road between you and your customers

An International Supply Chain expert for peace of mind Among the leading international logistics providers FM Logistic is a recognised expert in the warehousing, transport, co-packing and supply chain management businesses. Independent and family operated, the Group provides services to clients in the Food, Retail, Home and Personal Care markets as well as the perishable goods, healthcare, pharmaceutical and industrial sectors. Operating in 12 countries with 18,730 employees, FM Logistic generated an annual turnover of over one billion euros as of 31 March 2014, representing growth of 17.6% over the previous financial year, and net profit of €12.8m. FM Logistic holds all the cards of a winning hand: end-to-end control of the supply chain, a broad international footprint, engaged shareholders with a long-term vision, a highly skilled workforce, its clients’ trust, operational know-how, the ability and drive to constantly innovate and powerful state-of-the-art platforms.

Contact: hcheucle@fmlogistic.com – Tel: +33 3 44 38 31 92

B r o t h e r

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degree than corporate companies, but SMBs have become equally mindful of the bottom line and the business of efficient print,” states Metcalfe. “At Brother, we see that the SMB, like larger corporates, wants user specific printing and high speed print capabilities alongside key features such as cloud-connectivity and the ability to control and manage print intelligently.” Brother’s Business Inkjet Range, currently launching across Europe, supports the SOHO and answers the requirement of the SMB. The six-model, cloud-connected inkjet range is compact, stylish and ready to support businesses during growth. The range includes three compact models that offer versatility for the SOHO with everyday A4 and occasional A3 print need and three Business Smart models offering reliability for the SMB with everyday A4 and everyday A3 requirement. The three Business Smart models can be customised with tailored screens, menus and workflows and can take high yield colour cartridges and super high yield black ink cartridges for low cost printing.

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palex Palex and Brother: translating to success Fruitful partnership exemplifies Brother’s “At Your Side” ethos A client-oriented approach and subject matter expertise are the lynchpins of Palex’s successful partnership with Brother International Europe (BIE). An internationally recognized provider of translation and localization solutions for global businesses, Palex began its collaboration with BIE in 2008. What started as a small glossary translation project gradually expanded to include a full account team handling glossary creation, translation and desktop publishing of user manuals, software translations and post processing of resource data and images. “Brother is a fantastic partner with whom you can not only work on current issues but also discuss bold ideas on developing and optimizing processes, share news and swap experiences,” said Natalia Lankina, Palex’s team lead on the BIE’s account. “Our team managers know that they can always count on professional support and good advice from the customer.” With more than 35 million words translated into 52 languages since 2008, Palex’s business with Brother is growing by leaps and bounds. The relationship is a symbiotic one, and Palex has grown more capable through its work with Brother, streamlining workflows and expanding its team of highly qualified translation and localization professionals. Palex is proud to work with Brother International Europe, and looks forward to continuing this collaborative partnership in the spirit of Brother’s “At Your Side” ethos. Email sales@palexgroup.com

www.palexgroup.com

B r o t h E r

i N t E r N A t i o N A l

E u r o P E

channelling solutions

the route to market for Brother products is not direct, the business utilises a far reaching network of partners that cascade products into the customer domain. that partner network includes broadline distributors that physically ‘lift and shift’ products into the domestic market but it also includes a range of system houses or dealers, who are the real face of Brother to the customer, explains metcalfe. “they will sit down with a client, talk about their needs, challenges and requirements and then put together a package of services and print solutions that will add real value to the customer’s business. “the channel helps provide the right solutions for our customers and in turn Brother provides partners with a strong support network with specific training and technological support, so that when they speak with a customer, they have all the information necessary, ready to convey the best solutions. that customer might be an emergency service, for example, and the requirement, printing speeding tickets at the roadside. “Reflecting Brother’s evolution, today, Brother is not just a hardware manufacturer, we are providing customers with solutions to their problems,” added metcalfe.

An Office On-the-Go

They (system houses or dealers) will sit down with a client, talk about their needs, challenges and requirements and then put together a package of services and print solutions that will add real value to the customer’s business”

with the advent of mobile technology at our fingertips, Brother has been quick to add mobility based innovation into their portfolio. with clients no longer tethered to their offices, Brother developed a line of solutions that cater for printing needs onthe-go, including physical printers to carry, a portable range, which metcalfe expands on: “with more clients looking to work outside of the conventional office space, a need for

O u T l O O k

E X C l u S i v E

mobile printers was apparent. the early a5 printers would allow you to print out a document for a client while on-the-go albeit a more draft quality version. Since then we have made significant advances in mobile printers and can now offer high quality solutions offering outputs from sizes A4 - A6.” the pJ range is a fast, compact solution, ideal for professionals and field workers who need to print on the move at a4. the series uses direct thermal print technology, giving added convenience with no need for ink, toner or ribbons. the latest model, the PJ-673 is Brother’s first mobile printer to feature iOS® compatibility, facilitating wireless printing from an Apple® iPad® and iPhone®. In turn, the rJ series is robust, tough and versatile. with a maximum print output of 4 inches in width, the series is ideal for a wide range of receipt, small document and label printing applications in field sales, emergency services, logistics and warehousing.

smart moves

Reflecting on the changes in print technology since the dot matrix printer and how businesses are evolving from centralised office structures, metcalfe states: “times have changed, there’s appetite for the ability to disconnect from the typical office based solution. Brother’s aim is to help businesses derive value for money from making a smart move towards mobility and through the adoption of new technologies.” Brother products, services and solutions that respond to this requirement, facilitating mobile working and employee efficiency, have been aligned under two ‘intelligent’ banners: • WorkSmart, with a focus around communication and collaboration and; • PrintSmart, underpinned by cost efficiency and security

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B r o t h E r

i N t E r N A t i o N A l

focussing on two worksmart headline solutions: Br-Docs a cloud-based document storage and retrieval solution, gives employees access to corporate documents on the road. the service allows micro to medium-sized businesses to digitise their workflows and store, file, manage and share documents of all types in one secure place - accessible from laptops, workstations or mobile devices. Brother’s omniJoin web conferencing solution allows employees on-the-go to join meetings with office-based staff and customers around the world. launched in 2012, the service can be accessed using existing equipment (mac, pc, laptop, iphone, ipad, ipod touch) and delivers high-quality, highly secure voice, video and collaboration tools. omniJoin has been used in education, where lecturers in scandinavia have been

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E u r o P E

When it comes to being PrintSmart, it’s about the difference Brother solutions can make for businesses and their bottom line”

utilising the platform to hold seminars with over 100 students in remote locations. school children in Japan communicated in real time with an astronaut on the International space station via omniJoin, joining the conversation from seven different locations across Japan. when it comes to being printsmart, it’s about the difference Brother solutions can make for businesses and their bottom line. managed print services (mps) allows businesses to either lease or pay for the latest Brother printers or supplies, so customers can choose the type of service that is right for them, personalising their print set up to be able to better control printing costs and free up time to concentrate on the more important aspects of their operation. Improving print security and reducing the amount of ‘forgotten print’, those documents that are never claimed from the tray by the side of the printer, are business issues addressed by Brother’s B-guard print management solution, explains metcalfe. “B-guard is a cost saving measure that any size business can implement, with its standout feature pull print, which allows the user to ‘release’ their print job from any chosen device in their organisation by either entering a pIn code at the control panel or swiping an ID card through an attached reader. The solution significantly reduces paper wastage and improves document security. B-guard gives the ability to restrict access to certain functions, which means black and white print and 2-sided print can be prescribed. the bottom line, our studies have shown that B-guard reduces print output by 10%.” the next step in the evolution under Brother’s printsmart banner lies in its Balanced Deployment solution, which looks to optimise employee productivity in businesses where there are larger centralised printers. “the location of these printers may cause employees to waste time walking to and waiting at those devices, resulting in expensive downtime. Balanced Deployment takes a considered approach to maximising productivity and minimising costs. Workflows and business processes can be improved, costs can be reduced by consolidating devices in printer fleets with ink/toner, maintenance and It support costs all covered,” said metcalfe.

O u T l O O k

the public Zone

Brother is launching two new cloud-based solutions in europe this september, to further support businesses to printsmart from mobile devices. printsmart mobile is a cloudbased printing solution that provides easy print access from a business’ employees and guests. users can print easily from their mobile devices to a Brother printer without returning to their desks to connect to networks or download printer drivers. printsmart mobile Zone goes one step further, explains metcalfe. “this solution provides simple printing onthe-go, users will be able to print from their mobile device at a host of public access sites such as libraries, airports, hotels and business centres. there is a clear appetite from businesses for quick, simple and secure mobile printing. these solutions show that Brother is in the same zone.” Brother has seen a rising appetite for the ability to print from mobile devices in the last four years, through usage of its own iprint&scan app, which allows users to print and scan

total Pages Printed Via the app 2011

1,644,408

2012

14,484,742

2013

58,914,480

2014

56,394,324

E X C l u S i v E

from their smartphone and tablet technology. “The figures for the number of pages printed since 2011 have not just soared, they have skyrocketed,” explained metcalfe.

at your side

‘at your side’ is Brother’s motto and an ethos that runs throughout the business. “the company actively encourages employees to come up with new and innovative ways to help customers. that’s focussed back into our r&D in Japan, in turn. we are always looking not just for a piece of hardware but a solution, something that will add value for the customer, make things easier for the customer. that focus has been on the soho but our focus is expanding with growing businesses as our solution suite supports them to reap the benefits of mobility too. It’s changing times, it’s expanding times, it’s an exciting new era for Brother,” metcalfe concluded.

BROTHER BY A S S O C I AT I O N When most people think of Brother, automatic product associations typically include typewriters, sewing machines and printers. Brother associations have also included strong sponsorships, particularly in British sport. Brother was Manchester city Fc’s shirt sponsor from 1987-1999 and Formula 1 sponsor between 1998 and 2003, where Brother worked alongside a number of head-of-thegrid race teams, including Jordan. Brother was also one of the official suppliers of the 1984 Los angeles olympic Games, providing journalists with typewriters. “When you look at the number of products that Brother currently have in the market, it may come as a surprise. We presently have over 250 products or solutions available and with several new products being released through digital applications, our portfolio is set to grow even further,” cites Metcalfe. it comes as no surprise that Brother has ranked in the thomson Reuters top 100 global innovators for the last three years. the list honours 100 corporations and institutions around the world that are at the heart of innovation.

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I N E URO P E For most enterprises, and certainly most of Oracleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s customers, a drive to simplify Information technology (IT) is becoming of ever-increasing importance. Oracle has become one of the largest technology companies in the world on the strength of its extensive portfolio of software and hardware products to facilitate this simplification. In this special feature, Europe Outlook interviews senior managers in Oracle EMEA including the Vice Presidents of Product Strategy, Product Development and Security & Identity Solutions. Plus, we take an in-depth look inside the Oracle brand, showcasing how the company sees the importance of cloud, social, mobile and critical applications in changing the way we do business today. Writers Matt Bone and Emily Jarvis Project Manager Donovan Smith

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tec

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socialenvironment

SOCIAL What’s Oracle’s view on how social media is changing enterprise business?

Here’s a lesson CMOs and CIOs should take to heart: yesterday’s enterprise social strategy won’t work today, and today’s won’t work tomorrow. Why? Well, let’s examine a few core principles of the social environment.

Richard Beattie EMEA Applications Senior Director, Marketing Cloud & Social Cloud

Social is global. It’s important to realise that at least 75% of the traffic on Facebook and Twitter comes from outside the United States. To borrow a phrase, the world is flat. It’s a global marketplace, thanks in part to social networking, and brands are launching globally. No matter what type it is or where it’s located, a company today needs to have a presence that scales globally. That’s where social marketing can play an important role. Social takes marketing global - but only if the capability is built in. That capability includes, for example, support for multiple languages, including idioms and slang, and for multiple social platforms, such as Renren, the Chinese version of Facebook. Social is ubiquitous. At work, employees want to use the same tools, and have the same online experiences they have in their personal lives: content sharing, newsfeeds, messaging, etc. Similarly, customers want to interact with their vendors the same way they interact with their friends. Today’s consumers don’t buy products; they invest in brands. And they don’t want to interact with a department; they want to do business with a peer. In terms of enterprise strategy, social entered by way of the marketing department but is rapidly extending its reach across organisations’ various divisions. For example, human resource managers have realised that they can use social capability to help retain their best employees as well as to seek out the best new prospects.

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Social is real-time. Twitter upped the ante in terms of the time element involved in social networking. In the Twitter-sphere, conversations begin, explode and trail off in what seems like the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, the damage to a company’s reputation incurred from a negative Twitter blast can last a very long time. So, I ask organisations everywhere: How well have you kept up? If you created your enterprise social strategy more than a year ago, chances are you weren’t factoring in at least some of these trends and capabilities. For instance, is your strategy truly global? Does it extend internally across your organisation? Is Twitter a part of that strategy? And is the lesson of Twitter - listening closely and reacting in real time - a critical element?

How is social affecting modern marketing? If you’re a marketing leader, you often need to think like an artist. Using the right tone and pitch in your Facebook messages; crafting the storyboard for your 25-second YouTube video; evoking an emotional response with one simple tweet–these things require intuition, a sense of taste, and the courage to act without precedent. At the same time, marketing executives must understand hard science. If you’re looking to derive customer insights from social data and big data, you need tools that will allow you to be uncompromisingly objective. That’s why marketing technologies are increasingly appropriating methods from behavioural economics,

tec

Mannai

annai Corporation Q.S.C. is a public company headquartered in Qatar. It’s diverse range of business areas include Information and Communication Technology, automotive distribution and service, engineering services to the oil and gas sector, home appliances & electronics, travel services, logistics, geotechnical and geological services, facilities management, trading and commercial representation. Mannai Group has grown over half a century into a major commercial enterprise employing over 3500 people.

delivery of software application development, integration and maintenance services. Mannai Trading Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mannai Corporation and is responsible for all trading activities of the Group. The Computer and Office Systems (COS) Division, which is part of Mannai Trading Company, is responsible for all Software, Hardware, IT-network and office equipment related business of the Group.

Techsignia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mannai, represents Mannai in other geographies. A profitable entity in itself, Techsignia has established a large offshore development Mannai Corporation is a 64-year old global business conglomerate center in India with geography spreading across Europe, GCC, with operations spanning across Africa and India. We have a MEA and APAC geographies. pool of 200+ qualified technoOne of the key business units at Mannai is the Computer and Office functional consultants and project management personnel. Our Systems Division with Software, clientele cuts across multiple Hardware and Networking industry verticals – BFSI, Telecom, equipment as its principal Utilities, Healthcare and F&B. lines of business. This division currently operates from worldclass Onsite /Off-shore delivery Tel +974 4455 8888 centers in Qatar and Pune, India Email software@mannai.com.qa and has a global “state-of-thewww.mannai.com art” voice/data network for the

psychology, and statistics–and eliminating unnecessary guesswork in the process. here are some of the social marketingrelated topics and questions that modern marketing leaders need to tackle:

THE SCIENCE

It’s vital that marketers understand the technology of social networks, those that are here and those yet to come. what are their functions? what value proposition do they offer marketing? marketers must think about ways to integrate those networks into one manageable platform for efficient publishing and facilitating a comprehensive picture of your social analytics. with organic reach dropping and the importance of paid social rising, how can companies work with paid social media partners to quickly leverage top performing content and extend their reach and engagement?

An enterprise workflow system means tasks can be assigned and managed and customer communications can be routed to the right person for the fastest response and resolution. all these tools point to an ideal: the social-enabled enterprise, in which social weaves not only through marketing functions, but connects to other enterprise systems such as crm, sales, HR, and fulfilment for the most powerful use of big data imaginable.

THE ART

tech is far from the answer to every marketing challenge. creativity is not only still vital - it’s even more door-die as content quality separates winners from losers. as a marketing leader, what skills should you look for in identifying creative talent? Brands now have to be “liked,” so you can’t realistically proceed with no brand voice and personality. people don’t connect with entities, they connect with humans. there’s an intuitive art If you’re looking to derive to striking a chord with people and making them want to customer insights from social associate with you. data and big data, you need tools you often hear about how that will allow you to be effective it is to surprise and delight customers. yes, tech uncompromisingly objective” can show what your audience tends to like, but creating something that truly catches them off guard and sweeps them off their feet is an art. listening to the customer has become every bit as important as social is but one part of the pushing marketing messages. your modern marketing ecosystem. social listening tool should alert But perhaps more than any other you to the current hot topic in your component, as a result of being in space, what the public is saying the trenches of day-to-day brand/ about you, where the competition customer relationship building and is messing up so you can offer nurturing, social is where you’re better solutions, how people are likely to find the most even mix of responding to your campaigns, and the overall sentiment for your brand. art and science.

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DELOITTE Deloitte and Oracle, a powerful connection

or more than a decade, Deloitte has been designated by oracle as Diamond partner. we are focused on effectively providing implementation-related services in support of oracle services and solutions, designed to help organisations drive revenue growth and improve operating margins. Implementing oracle products effectively requires more than just technical know-how; it requires deep understanding of industryspecific business processes in order to support a company’s business objectives. Deloitte and oracle team together to deliver services and solutions designed to help organisations solve their most pressing business challenges. In short, it’s about helping organisations leverage technology as an enabler to solving their real business challenges. we call this approach “business-led, technologyenabled” and it stands at the heart of everything we do. our network of more than 13,800 oracle professionals provides highly skilled, deeply experienced consultants to help support implementations virtually anywhere in the world. In addition we can engage professionals from our other functions like tax, risk and hr to add value to your oracle initiative. we have broad access to people who help companies address these issues every day.

for more information, go to www.deloitte.com/oracle or contact stef oud, emea oracle practice leader, Deloitte (soud@deloitte.nl)

Deloitte & Oracle Today, everything in your business is connected. But are you prepared to use those connections to drive better results? With the combination of Deloitte’s business insights and Oracle’s deep technology capabilities, you can.

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a more detailed description of DTTL and its member firms. © 2014. For information, contact Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.

C L O U D

C O M P U T I N G

ClouD Briefly talk us through the core elements of cloud computing

Richard Garsthagen Director, cloud Business Development

cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, ondemand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. this definition from the National Institute of standards has gained broad support from the industry. The NIST definition of cloud computing describes essential characteristics, service models and deployment models.

FIVE ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS on-demand self service resource pooling rapid elasticity (It resources are able to scale out and in quickly and on an as-needed basis) measured service, including chargeback Broad network access

THREE SERVICE MODELS software as a service (saas) – applications delivered as a service to end-users typically through a web browser.

Ian Tickle Vice president, emea saas solutions

platform as a service (paas) – an application development and deployment platform delivered as a

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J.M.T. AL-GHANIM & SONS J.m.t. al-ghanim & sons co. (Jmt) is a kuwait-based company established in 1983 and is the distributor for oracle corporation in kuwait. through its local staff, Jmt provides all oracle products, support, training and consultancy services to an extensive list of customers. Jmt has been a leading system integrator and implementation partner to oracle for over 20 years and the company has managed to expand into other markets successfully due to its reputation of quality delivery and project completion. over the past three decades, Jmt has maintained its reputation as a premiere solution provider in the middle eastern region, and the company’s goal is to penetrate new markets such as africa, europe, and asia. founded with a primary focus on It solution delivery, outsourcing and managed services, today, Jmt has managed to acquire a number of major projects within the gulf region. the company has a diverse customer base including oil, banking, mrD and government. with its proven success, it is inevitable that the company will continue to flourish and maintain its strong presence in the region. the ceo, ms. haya al ghanim, is also the chairman of e-portal holding co. of which Jmt is a subsidiary company. Tel +965 22442645 Email info@jmtco.com

www.jmtco.com

C loudcomputing service to developers who use the platform to build, deploy and manage applications. The platform typically includes database, middleware, development and management tools Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – Compute servers, storage, and networking hardware delivered as a service. This infrastructure hardware is often virtualised, so virtualisation, operating system and management software are also part of IaaS as well.

D eployment M odels

Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, ondemand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources”

Private Clouds – For exclusive use by a single organisation and typically controlled, managed and hosted by the organisation’s IT department. The hosting and operation of private clouds may also be outsourced to a third party service provider, but a private cloud remains for the exclusive use of one organisation.

Public Clouds – For use by multiple organisations (tenants) on a shared basis and hosted and managed by a third party service provider. Public clouds are a form of outsourcing. The degree of resource sharing varies – shared resources can include some or all of facilities, network, storage, computing servers, databases, middleware and applications. Hybrid Clouds – When a single organisation adopts both private and public clouds for single and/or multiple applications in order to take advantage of the benefits of both. Modern cloud computing technology can help organisations see new business opportunities and innovate faster, because less it reduces risk and speeds up provision of resources. Whereas with traditional IT, organisations have to invest up front

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in resources to build the solution, not knowing if it will be successful. With most forms of cloud computing, this up front investment is replaced by a “pay as you go” model which allows organisations to grow or scale down their IT as needed. This is how Oracle Cloud Solutions – the most complete and integrated cloud offerings in the industry – are helping people at all levels of their organisations succeed in modern business: Oracle Cloud - Oracle’s broad portfolio of software as a service applications, platform as a service, and social capabilities, all on a subscription basis. Oracle Private Cloud Products - Oracle’s comprehensive portfolio of best-in-class, integrated applications, platform, and infrastructure products and solutions. Oracle Managed Cloud Services - Oracle’s enterprise-grade, end-to-end managed cloud services across its broad portfolio of business applications, middleware, database, and hardware technologies. Oracle Services provides services across the lifecycle to help you plan your path to cloud and stay optimised.

What are the main trends in Europe around cloud computing?

Cloud computing is transforming the way businesses operate, streamlining processes and creating greater cost efficiencies. Demand for cloud is exploding. Of the 150 executives interviewed in UK, France and Germany for recent research for the Financial Times, 87% say their firm is already using cloud computing. (82% UK, 84% France, 94% Germany). What’s driving cloud implementation? Cost is the overwhelming driving force behind corporate cloud implementation. When surveyed, 30% of respondents say that lower operating cost is the key driver. Reinforcing this point, a further 30% say that infrastructure costs are the major factor. Businesses clearly recognise the transformational effect that cloud can have on corporate balance sheets. By shifting services onto the cloud, the costs associated with traditional IT, such as servers, software, staffing and maintenance, are considerably reduced. This has an impact on both capital and operational expenditure. “By implementing cloud,

tec

loudcomputing

we end up paying a low, predictable, flat-rate monthly fee per user for the software that we use, which means that we can scale up or down as our business needs demand,” explains one UK-based CIO. “When we take on more staff, we can switch on new licences immediately, and similarly turn off the tap if we scale down.” Improved resource allocation is also seen as important by respondents, with 19% highlighting a more efficient use of people and processes as their main reason for adopting cloud. For IT departments, this implies a transition to new value-added roles. “The IT workload is reduced because of cloud and the team is able to focus on improving the company by bringing new ideas that could enhance our processes,” says a France-based CIO.

Geographical Differences

Sales/CRM represents the single-most prominent department for cloud deployment, with 30% of firms implementing cloud solutions in this area. Marketing is the second most popular, with an average of 19% of organisations introducing cloud, followed by operations and logistics (15%) and product development (13%). Research, human resources and accounting amount to less than 10% each.

Where is cloud computing headed what’s next? When it comes to the cloud, businesses are going to have one immediate responsibility: understanding which applications are going to increase productivity while making the business more efficient. This will involve deploying cloud solutions that will add value to the whole organisation including marketing, HR, the supply chain, customer engagement and sales, amongst others. Concurrently, the Chief Information Officer will continue to evolve into the ‘Chief Innovation Officer’ – a role that feeds directly into the business goals of the organisation. The CIO will increasingly work much more closely to the CFO and the CEO to drive business growth through cloud applications and infrastructure. All three will become much more tech-savvy.

While there are significant areas of commonality between France, Germany and the UK, there are differences among respondents regarding the drivers underpinning cloud implementation. This is clearly seen with lower infrastructure The Future of the Cloud also Lies in Openness costs: while 40% of French respondents point to this as the most important factor, only 20% of Customers want choice, and this will drive the development German respondents do so. In part, these national of interoperable cloud technologies that they can mix at will. variations can be accounted for by differences in Businesses will use both public cloud services and private cloud maturity levels. Businesses in Germany are ahead services in tandem across a unified infrastructure. Importantly, of their counterparts these services will be accessible via a range in France and the UK in of devices, many of which will be employeeterms of cloud adoption, owned. These services will also be ‘socialised’, with 94% of German firms making them easy to use and helping to increase in the survey already collaborative working. using cloud. Based on Another key issue, related to openness, our research, it seems is integration. It is essential, in a future, Modern cloud that organisations tend hybrid-cloud world, that cloud-based and oncomputing to de-emphasise the premises applications can talk to each other to technology can help importance of lower ensure an accurate and complete view of an infrastructure costs once organisation’s key data. As Larry Ellison himself organisations see new they start using cloud, put it, in a joint announcement with salesforce. business opportunities with firms shifting focus com: “When you move to the cloud, companies and innovate faster, to new areas don’t expect a multi hundred million dollar of differentiation. project to make their CRM from salesforce because less it reduces Where do firms deploy work with ERP from Oracle. We have to make risk and speeds up cloud? Cloud is seldom that implementation work out of the box.” provision of resources” implemented across an This announcement was the first in a series of entire organisation as a announcements of cloud connector capabilities single project. Instead, from Oracle, all of which go to underline the most organisations adopt importance of integration across a hybrid cloud a bespoke approach to environment for businesses as they plan their cloud adoption. future in the cloud.

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mobilecommunications

MOBILE

How is Oracle making the mobilisation of business applications more secure?

Alan Hartwell Vice President, Security & Identity Solutions, EMEA

The emergence of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is technological trend which is set to have a massive impact on people’s business lives. From the business perspective, the savings alone in procurement and network costs can mean that BYOD more than pays for itself - and that’s before you take into account its other advantages, such as increased employee productivity, reduced hardware costs for IT and an improved ability to attract the best of today’s young talent. And for people at work, BYOD offers clear advantages of familiarity and flexibility in getting to grips with the job at hand. So why, might you ask, are businesses not universally embracing such a clearly advantageous trend? It would seem that worries about security means that many companies across Europe are hanging back. Nearly half of businesses (44%) dislike BYOD or only allow it in exceptional circumstances. Security, be it of device or of information, is the main concern expressed by the vast majority of respondents, but that 44% of “BYOD Deniers” are even more concerned, as well they might be, since around two-thirds of them are permitting unmanaged and/or unencrypted business data on employees’ personal devices. And it needn’t be so. As Alan Hartwell, Oracle EMEA’s VP of Security and Identity Solutions says, “Technologies such as containerisation, end-to-end encryption and device and application management integrated with a unified enterprise identity store can secure BYOD environments. These are all capabilities available today within Oracle’s mobile portfolio and deployed by Global

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AOT

OT is a one-stop shop IT services provider company, serving the Gulf market since 2003, with its headquarter in Riyadh. AOT offers IT consulting, IT infrastructure management, IT security solutions, enterprise application solutions, system integration as well as outsourcing, to help companies harness IT to drive operational cost efficiency as well as business growth. AOT is the leader in e-Service applications, specializing in the e-Government sector. It offers 360 degree view and support of e-Service strategy and roadmap, utilizing very skilled and well diversified IT consultants, developers and solution architects. AOT is proud at serving key and strategic customers and government ministries. AOT supports customers’ core applications that enable the customer’s business users to run its day-to-day business. It provides the business users with tools and up-to-date data view in running its business effectively and efficiently. AOT specializes in supporting back office applications that enable the back office operations including ERP, HCM, GRC and EAM. We complement the above by supporting applications that sustains the business operations and infrastructure, such as ECM, Project Management and Network Monitoring. We also support the integration of the customers’ core applications with external applications such as external government entities, and other supporting private sector entities. AOT is proud to be a Platinum Oracle Partner. Tel +966 (11) 2910605 Fax +966 (11) 2913328

www.aot.sa

www.linkedin.com/company/advancedoperations-technology

spec

mobilecommunications Fortune 100 customers. It is vital that stakeholders within the BYOD ecosystem make this clear to their businesses. This should result in a major increase in the number of European organisations gaining the benefits offered by BYOD.” Oracle itself has a compelling offering here – the Oracle Mobile Security Suite, which can securely extend identity services and policies Henrik Stahl to mobile devices through authentication, Vice President, policy enforcement, Java Product Development and single sign-on between applications. It provides a trusted and independent mobile workspace for enterprise applications, email, and data; securely extends all identity services and policies of the enterprise user to their personal mobile device; and delivers centralised management for auditing and enforcement, reducing the cost of complex mobile environments. Technology is set to have an increasingly significant impact on our business and personal lives. And these two research projects really underline and bring to life how IT is set to change our businesses and improve our lives.

JAVA

With Java being used by Smartphone developers, how is Oracle pushing Java’s use in other communication mediums?

One of the biggest technology trends in 2014 will be one that remains essentially invisible to the vast majority of people on the planet, even though its eventual impact on humankind will be dramatic. The Internet of Things (IoT) - also known as the Industrial Internet, the Internet of Everything, and the Internet of Nouns - will finally become a reality in 2014, principally due to the rapidly falling cost of manufacturing power-efficient wireless chipsets capable of sending and receiving WiFi and Bluetooth low-energy signals. The future will be significantly influenced by Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication. And Java has a key role to play in the development of the offerings. The cost of adding connectivity to a device has now fallen to less than US$5.00, and these processors, with their built-in radios, can work for more than a year on batteries.

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Ultimately, these chips may even be able to “sip” energy harvested from their ambient environment, including stray electromagnetic radiation, thermal gradients, or even the rustle of a breeze. This will make them ubiquitous in machines, devices, transportation, and even individuals. While the most ubiquitous IoT device, the smartphone - which already incorporates sensors such as accelerometer, compass, and GPS - exists in hundreds of millions of pockets, 2014 will see cheap, ubiquitous, wireless sensors invade the physical environment. Smartphones will become wireless hubs for these low-energy devices, enabling consumers and infrastructure to become hyper-connected to each other, to their environment, and potentially to any other resource on the Internet. The first applications of the Internet of Things will be in business processes such as the remote maintenance of industrial machinery, supply-chain optimisation and security, and infrastructure management. The resultant streams of data, emerging in real or near real-time, will be a boon to networking, storage, analytics, and visualisation companies. The amount of data forecast from “things” is poised to dwarf that from humans. Providing actionable intelligence from these large, noisy, incomplete, and potentially conflicting streams of data will keep statisticians, analysts, and user interface/experience designers busy for decades. Indeed, one of the biggest challenges of the IoT will be turning the data into engaging “nudges” that modify human behavior in sustainable or habit-forming ways. (Of course, for consumer companies, habit-forming may include stoking an addiction to buying their particular product or service!) There are many reasons why Oracle’s Java Embedded technologies are ideal for smart devices in M2M architectures. Java offers comprehensive functionality for resource-constrained devices, with the highest level of functionality, security, connectivity and scalability in the industry – all delivered through a massive ecosystem of more than nine million Java developers worldwide. And, as a standards-based language, Java provides code portability in M2M environments, accelerating time to market as new generations of sensor technology emerge. In addition, secure, in-market device software updates extend product lifecycles and allow new services to be provisioned remotely.

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bigdata

BIG

Paul Sonderegger Oracle’s Big Data Strategist

How should organisations incorporate big data into a competitive strategy? The twin forces of digitisation and datafication seem to bring big data disruption to every industry. Long-standing music, news, and television giants are reeling. Uber has taxi companies running scared across the globe. And Google’s might compelled two of the world’s leading advertising agencies to attempt an ultimately unsuccessful merger. But digitisation and datafication are not specific technologies owned by one firm. They’re methods open to all. But getting disrupted by these methods depends not on whether you’re an incumbent or an upstart. It depends on your big data strategy. Strategy, according to Michael Porter, the world’s foremost authority on the topic, is choosing to create a unique value in a unique way. It’s not enough to offer a

product or service customers can get only from you. You also have to create and deliver those products and services in ways your competition can’t easily copy. Because every activity in a company both uses and produces information, data can make new products and services, and new ways of delivering them, possible. But how do you incorporate big data into your competitive strategy? Here are the four critical steps:

DATAFY MORE ACTIVITIES Data comes from digitising activities. Putting vibration sensors on calibrated manufacturing equipment, providing mobile diagnostic apps to patients with chronic medical conditions, even automating additional human resource processes adds potential value to your stock of data.

CREATE PROPRIETARY DATA ASSETS Think of interactions with customers and suppliers as territory to claim before the competition does. If you can get a mobile app into their hands first, you alone capture the data from using it. When tapping third party data like twitter feeds and facebook posts which may be equally accessible to rivals, combine it with customer or transaction data only you have. Like pouring milk into a cup of coffee, a dollop of private data mixed with public data makes the whole concoction unique.

DATA

USE DATA TO MAKE DATA The very act of using data creates additional data for further use. A financial services firm checks person-to-person mobile payments for fraud with machinelearning algorithms. The data produced by scoring each of the transactions then becomes input to make the algorithm more effective. This big data flywheel effect is a key part of the most successful online consumer services like Google, Amazon, and Uber.

FIND YOUR INNER PLATFORM Technology competition tends to revolve around platforms with winner-take-all network effects. This happened with PCs, and is happening again with Smartphones. As digitisation and datafication spread into more industries, platform competition follows. For many companies, this may require some bold thinking. For example, a large bank in Spain started a mobile ad-delivery service that helps retailers tailor offers to consumers based on combinations of banking and social media data, plus geographic data from ATM use. Inviting other banks to participate in this already innovative service could transform it into a true platform whose increased value would more than make up for having to give pieces of the pie to other banks. Never send to know for whom the big data bell tolls; it tolls for thee. But an effective big data strategy can turn digitisation and datafication to your advantage.

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E ngineered S ystems

ENGINEERED SYSTEMS What’s the business value of Oracle’s “Engineered Systems” approach? The basic integration of hardware, virtualisation and management software into factory-assembled products has been happening for several years, largely driven by the desire to help the owners and operators of data centers to do more with less cost and risk. Oracle has taken a unique approach that reached further up the technology stack to include, and optimise, the application software that lies at the heart of the enterprise. For most enterprises, and certainly most of Oracle’s customers, it is the applications (and their enabling middleware and database software) that matter John Abel most. Oracle has become one of the largest Senior Director, technology companies in the world on the strength of our extensive portfolio of software products, Business and our strategy with Oracle Engineered Systems Development has therefore been to develop infrastructure that is both easier for data center operators to deploy and operate and which delivers unique optimisations which enhance the performance, reliability, manageability, efficiency to the owners of the applications and software that are essential to the business and Oracle has taken a unique are driving the lions share of overall IT investment. Simply approach that reached put, Oracle’s Engineered further up the technology stack to Systems are more than include, and optimise, the reference architectures or application software that lies at pre-integrated hardware infrastructure building blocks. the heart of the enterprise” Oracle’s Engineered Systems are each designed to support specific high-value, mission

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TransSys TransSys – The trusted partner for your Oracle Cloud solution initiatives

s a multiple award-winning Platinum partner and a specialised partner in multiple streams of Fusion Applications, TransSys is an established leader when it comes to Oracle SaaS solutions delivery. We are the go-to partner for customers wanting to adopt comprehensive SaaS solutions from Oracle Corporation. Based in Dubai, TransSys is currently operational in the Middle East & Africa region and has ambitions to reach out to wider European market. TransSys’s SaaS offerings has got many firsts to its credits including first multi-pillar fusion deployment in the region, first endto-end CXM solutions on the cloud covering sales, marketing and service clouds, first full suite HCM Cloud solution deployment for a bank, first ERP & advanced procurement cloud solution deployment.

www.transsyssolutions.com

SPRY Consult Limited

PRY Consult Limited (SPRY) is an ICT consultancy company and Oracle Gold partner providing business process re-engineering, supervision, quality assurance and audit implementation services to financial organisations, the government, production industries and corporate business communities in Zambia. Spry also works with NGO agencies and smallmedium enterprises focusing on Growth, Profitability and Investment in the future. SPRY experts model and analyse increasingly complex applications and their information that sustain today’s fast-paced business processes. Our vision is to be a leading service provider of end to end solutions by creating innovative business models that provide value, quality and execution excellence to its customers. Tel +260 955 234016 Email info@spryconsult.co.zm

tec

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E ngineered S ystems critical software workloads, from industry-specific applications and ERP to database, middleware, big data and analytics. Oracle’s unique position as the only vendor offering a complete portfolio of applications, database, middleware, storage, compute platforms, networking, virtualisation, operating systems and management has given us a huge advantage over our competitors which we are augmenting at an already rapid and accelerating pace. The benefits of Oracle’s Engineered Systems are not at all hard to characterise and are, at some level, common to all of the products in our Engineered systems portfolio: Shorter implementation time

For most enterprises, and certainly most of Oracle’s customers, it is the applications (and their enabling middleware and database software) that matter most”

Better reliability and reduced downtime Better performance and resource efficiency Lower software license and ongoing costs and higher software ROI

n the past 28 years of using Oracle for banking software development and consulting, it is undisputable that Oracle’s products has successfully covered the length and breathe of business requirements. Olla Systems Limited has successfully combined a unique advisory approach and variety of Oracle’s cutting edge technology to become a leading partner in Nigeria. Olla Systems Limited is technologically inclined with the bestproven solutions. Our primary goal is to provide swift and dependable technical assistance, delivery and maintenance of software, data storage as well as security and fraud solutions to our customers. Tel +234 8087183222 Email olla@ollasystems.com

www.ollasystems.com

Better investment protection and business continuity Oracle customers all over Europe are making the decision to take steps now, in the right direction. Here is just a sample of the customers in Europe who have gained major business benefit from adopting Oracle Engineered Systems: Banca Transilvania Atos IT Solutions Deutsche Telekom Raiffeisen Swiss Re Immonet GmbH dunnhumby DB Schenker Rail Centrica CaixaBank Kabel Deutschland

olla systems ltd

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Oracle’s unique position as the only vendor offering a complete portfolio of applications, database, middleware, storage, compute platforms, networking, virtualisation, operating systems and management has given us a huge advantage over our competitors”

tec

Building bridges between requirements and technologies.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

OPN Specialized Red Stack Partner 2013 – Germany OPN Specialized Database Partner 2012 – EMEA OPN Specialized Database Partner 2012 – Germany OPN Specialized Database Partner 2011 – Germany OPN Specialized Database Partner 2010 – Germany

Direct contact Gabriele Bardelang Tel.: 089 – 944940 - 141 Gabriele.Bardelang@inforsacom.com

inforsacom Informationssysteme GmbH Martin-Behaim-Strasse 19 – 21 63263 Neu-Isenburg www.inforsacom.com

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15:12

H uman

R esources

HUMAN RESOURCES How can forward-looking HR professionals gain advantage using analytical tools?

Andy Campbell HCM, Cloud Sales Evangelist

in high-quality, no matter what device they are viewing it on. Given that the complexity of HR data increases as a business expands The traditional business analysis tools its offerings, a tool that quickly available to most HR executives often consolidates this data to help perform limit their ability to shape company a holistic HR investigation becomes an strategy, and provide little more than indispensable analytics asset. When the ability to scrutinise backwardHR data is combined with additional looking efficiency metrics to gauge company data, the operational success. When one compares a business’ payroll costs to its overall expenses however, divides that traditionally exist within a business are broken down. With the it becomes evident that its people are, as the saying power to overcome this silo effect in a goes, its most valuable assets. With this in mind, it whole new way, companies can convert becomes critical to provide HR directors with a set what were once discrete sets of static of comprehensive analytical tools that simplify the synthesis of relevant data and promote the realisation information into powerful business intelligence. For example, a retail store of valuable business intelligence. manager who collects HR information The more complete a business’s data is, the relating to employee income, and more thorough its analytics will be. By embedding studies these in light of broader the availability of HR data into their workforce’s sales, profit, and customer footfall business processes, organisations can promote a steady flow of relevant information. This ultimately data, will gain unique insight into his or her staff’s performance means that people that will in turn enable better have access to the right workforce management. information when and The ability to anticipate where they need it, and changes in workforce behaviour can therefore perform and performance is extremely their jobs more easily constructive, and gives and more effectively. businesses an unprecedented In addition, keeping The ability to in developing and the data channel open anticipate changes head-start retaining their top talent. to employees even in workforce behaviour Predictive HR analytics provide when they are mobile businesses with the insight they will ensure that this and performance is need to make more proactive exchange remains active extremely constructive” personnel decisions. This enables at all times. Therefore, HR executives to develop an ideal HR analytics tool forward-thinking strategies should also be pervasive, aimed at ensuring that their and allow businesses present and future hires make to share relevant the most positive long-term information with their impact on their business. employees quickly and

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spec

REACH NEW

HEIGHTS Africa Outlook is a fantastic platform to share success stories and find ways of growing your business in Africa. To discuss your options, contact Ben Weaver ben.weaver@outlookpublishing.com

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C ustomer E x perience

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE How does an organisation become the brand of choice?

Brian Curran Vice President, Product Strategy

to the brands they interact with, including immediate response via the social media channels that have The unifying thread between the brands consistently voted the world’s become so central to peoples’ lives. In addition, they expect all “best” is a high level of brand equity. communications with a brand to be These companies consistently strike a visceral and highly emotional chord seamless and efficient, especially as the shopping experience now crosses with consumers. To build exceptional brand equity, multiple platforms – online, mobile, inbusinesses must first establish what store – in the course of one purchase. their brand stands for explicitly. Brand equity The Role of Emotion in Brand Equity is built on emotion, and ultimately customers’ perceptions of a company will impact how it The way that customers think about defines its brand image. As such, the extent brands is essentially through a series to which businesses can gain insight into this of associations made up of feelings, sentiment determines in large part how well their sounds, images and understandings. brand is received. Every one of these has an impact on To tap into customers’ emotions, businesses how the brand is perceived, its equity need to anticipate their needs and intentions and ultimately whether a purchase and engage with them is made or not. As proactively based on such, brand equity is their learnings. built through eliciting For this approach to positive emotional succeed, companies must responses from ensure that every aspect customers; the goal of their business is geared of the business should towards delivering on be to shape brand their brand’s promises. associations so that To build exceptional To achieve this, they positive associations first need to fully map come to mind brand equity, peoples’ customer journey, easily and, in turn, businesses must first including how they predispose consumers establish what their brand inform themselves, how to their brands. they interact with their If businesses can stands for explicitly” products, and how their provide control and relationship with a brand ease of engagement evolves over time. to customers then Customers today are this emotional need motivated by two drivers: is largely met. If the desire for control and customers are able the desire for ease. People to contact the brand today expect 24/7 access however they want

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tec

C ustomer E x perience In practice this requires something very special. Intrapreneurs bring an entrepreneurial flair to the business. They are disruptors that take on the How can companies be successful critical task of forcing-through muchby meeting customers’ needs? needed internal innovation by legacyTraditional means of boosting customer burdened companies. A major challenge for businesses engagement are no longer enough, today is to align their internal as people today have become more structure with how their brand is discerning than ever and have begun perceived by consumers. People to impose their own terms on how the do not see the silos – marketing, brand experience is delivered to them. Businesses now need to connect with sales, service and so on – that have customers on an emotional level – a task historically divided companies. What that has become very difficult to achieve they see and interact with is one consistent brand and image. in today’s fast-shifting market. Intrapreneurs realise every Established companies have struggled department across a business must with the scale of change required to adapt in-full, and have instead opted for come together for it to start considering strategy in simpler, more unified terms, and fulfil the needs a half-way house. As a result, many of of modern customers. them are failing to make the wholesale Put plainly, those businesses that still operate transformation required to prosper in in siloes will fail. They will be supplanted by today’s consumer-driven environment. organisations that are tightly-woven, with To overcome the limitations that legacy systems place on their evolution, processes and methodologies specifically designed businesses need to turn to the customer to get the organisation working as one to deliver the very best customer experiences. The key for (CX) specialists in their company, organisations now is to and empower them ensure they have the by tapping into their right intrapreneurial “intrapreneurial” spirit. talent in place to To lighten the load, help instigate and what’srequired is drive this disruptive nothing less than a The key for transformation before fundamental change in organisations now legacy-free competitors how businesses think win the race for and work. The rule book is to ensure they have market share. For needs to be torn up the right intrapreneurial customer experience and organisations need talent in place to help professionals the onus to look afresh at what is on them to grab the the customer journey instigate and drive this challenge by the horns looks like today – how disruptive transformation and see what they can customers engage with before legacy-free do to change how their brands and how they business understands fulfil their needs in a competitors win the race and engages with its meaningful way. Based for market share” customers. They must on what they find they transform themselves then need to rebuild into intrapreneurs their entire organisation before they can transform around the new the company. customer-centric reality. and get through immediately to have their needs met with minimal fuss boosts satisfaction and the brand’s equity increases accordingly.

Steve Walker Vice President, Corporate Communications Oracle EMEA

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E C O P h O S

EuROPE’S

EXPErtS

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EcoPhosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; new and innovative technology drastically increases phosphate reserves and eases the pressures on price for this commodity Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Serge Utting

hosphorous is an element that we cannot live without, but is becoming short in supply. The phosphate industry needs to keep up with the increasing demand for high quality phosphate; they need High Grade Rock Phosphate (HGRP) coming from the main supplier of rock phosphate. HGRP is vital because, historically, almost all producers of fertiliser and foods use the same processes. As the HGRP has limited availability across European countries, in some cases companies have no choice but to use Low Grade Rock Phosphate (LGRP). This is where EcoPhos come into the picture; with their new and innovative technology that drastically increases the phosphate reserves and eases the pressures on price for this commodity. Created in 1996, EcoPhos made the headlines in November last year when it was announced that the company would be acquiring Tessenderloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feed phosphate operations. Prior to the acquisition, which was completed in early-March 2014, EcoPhos produced feed grade DCP and MCP via its subsidiary Aliphos Bulgaria, located near Varna, Bulgaria. EcoPhos has undergone many additional acquisitions over the years in order to enhance their research and development, innovations and manufacturing of feed phosphate. Mohamed Takhim, founder and CEO of the company EcoPhos, is Chemical Process Engineer with an MBA, and is inspired by the phosphate chemistry process design. With the support of his dynamic and professional teams, he continues to develop new innovative processes and cost effective technologies in an industry having strong and sustainable fundamentals of growth.

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E c o P h o s

della toffola group

ella Toffola was established in the 1960’s, when it started making its first stainless steel vertical crushers and presses and its distinctive dynamism and manufacturing ability immediately gave it the impetus to compete with far larger industries operating in the wine-making sector, and enabled the Group to focus on finding further innovative solutions to expand the business. The level of the company know-how and the expertise it has gained in 50 years of activity now enable Della Toffola to provide turnkey systems, competing as a leader in its sector on all the markets of Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania, and spreading the name of Della Toffola all around the globe.

The new developed processes grant EcoPhos a unique competitive advantage that distinguishes the company in the market. “Indeed, our technology offers a great cost saving of the production costs by using cheaper raw materials and our process generates very pure co-products which can be easily used in the different commercial applications like gypsum and calcium chloride, those facts reduce drastically the global impact on the environment,” says Takhim. “Our strategy is oriented towards the international and global expansion of our operations taking advantage of the economic growth in emerging economies.” EcoPhos has won many awards and accolades due to its technological phosphorous innovations, and deservedly so. “In 2011, our production site in Bulgaria won 3rd place at the Simply the Best Company Awards, which was awarded by the Belgium Bulgarian Luxembourg business club in Sofia,”

Takhim proudly states. Furthermore, in May 2014, EcoPhos won the JPME Stars Excellence Award given by Business club of the Cercle du lac.

The Urban Mines Concept

European companies began to study the shortage of phosphorous and discovered that there is almost no phosphate reserve in Europe. Therefore, Europe is totally dependent on countries from abroad for its supply of phosphate. Based on this conclusion, an R&D phosphate platform was put in place at EcoPhos to brainstorm an alternative source of phosphate. “We have no phosphate in Europe, but we have big cities generating massive quantities of sewage sludge. This sewage sludge is generally incinerated to generate steam and electricity. Beside this energy production, the process generates ‘ashes’ that contain phosphate and

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In fact, the Della Toffola Group’s production range is now distinctive in its unrivalled quality and completeness, based on a variety of technological solutions capable of serving the needs of the entire production and packaging cycle, be it for wines or other foodstuffs. Della Toffola Group, 4 years ago, has developed a new water treatment department capable to engineer and supply complete waste water treatment plant and filtration systems for potable water. Together with Ecophos we have an agreement for the supply of customized filter presses to be installed in their process. The Della Toffola Group coordinates the expertise of a complete design and manufacturing organisation divided into 5 distinct operating divisions and the Della Toffola Group now employs more than 450 people at it various production units.

Tel +39 0423 6772 Email dtgroup@dellatoffola.it

www.dellatoffola.it

E C o P h o S

Technophos

can be considered as a lgrp through the classical conversion process, however ecophos have brought new technologies to make a more effective use of these materials. after several years of research and collaboration with snB/hVc in holland, ecophos put in place the first industrial process able to recycle the ashes and produce phosphate product. “thus, the concept of Urban Mines is born,” says yannick Vancoppenolle, marketing manager at ecophos. “urban mines means that each big city in europe becomes a potential phosphate reserve/ source if we can persuade authorities to mono-incinerate their sewage sludge instead of landfill it; in turn, making better use of waste through recycling.” moreover, in order to further secure their market position, ecophos invested 8.5million euros in 2013 to build a brand new r&D center in Bulgaria, named technophos.

Technology Provider not only is ecophos an established leading company in phosphate production, but they are also a provider of innovative technologies to the phosphate’s sector. By the end of 2014, ecophos forecast the start of a key project with Quimpac in peru as Vancoppenolle further explains: “the plan was designed to produce 60 kt/y of Dcp feed grade and 25 kt/y of phosphoric acid, all this based on the ecophos technology. our project with Quimpac is a good example of what is happening in the phosphate industry. historically, Quimpac produce their Dcp using the phosphate rock coming from the main international supplier; while in peru, there is one of the biggest reserves of phosphate in the world. this peruvian rock is considered by the classical process as a lgrp due to the high content of cadmium and chloride. now, with the ecophos process, Quimpac will have

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the choice either to work with foreign or national rock to produce the same high quality end-product.” In addition to this project, ecophos has signed licensing with eurochem in kazachstan and namphos in namibia (subsea rocks) to valorise their low grade rock phosphate containing high level of magnesium and/or organic materials. each project will produce 660kt of Dcp fertiliser grade per year.

Increasing Production Capacity

In addition to having various projects in the pipeline, ecophos wish to increase their own production capacity in europe and asia. “In Dunkerque (france), ecophos will build a new plant based on its technology. this new production of 220 kt Dcp feed grade/year is planned to start in January 2017 and will include the possibility to use the fly ashes coming from the incineration of sewage sludge. It will be the first industrial

m A N u f A C t u r i N G

UCCI plant Syria

Urban Mines means that each big city in Europe becomes a potential phosphate reserve/ source if we can persuade authorities to mono-incinerate their sewage sludge instead of landfill it; in turn, making better use of waste through recycling”

Quimpac

plant in europe processing these ashes,” highlights Vancoppenolle. In India, ecophos and gujarat narmada Valley fertilizers & chemicales (gnfc) have signed a memorandum of understanding for setting up a 150,000 mt per annum animal feed grade Di-calcium phosphate (Dcp) plant at gnfc tDI Dahej site, gujarat, India in a Joint Venture. ecophos plans to install a further two plants outside of europe, with an impressive target to reach 1 million tonnes of Dcp per year in the next ten years.

Financing The Future In order to finance its investment in new production capacities, ecophos use its patent revenues generated by the sales of licenses to other manufacturers of phosphates. “with this combined business model strategy, we have obtained a higher growth in the last five years at 50% / year on average, and we are

exceeding the turnover of 100 million euros / year on all of our activities! we will continue this development to become a world leader in the production of animal feed phosphates the next five years,” cites Takhim. looking into the future in terms of their products, yannick Vancoppenolle says that ecophos will continue to focus on providing quality goods: “we will continue work with the aliphos team to develop new products and new applications. for instance, aquaculture is a growing market in need of technological and efficient products. We also aim to focus our production process on phosphorous-recovery in order to improve waste management and work with cost effective raw materials.” Finally and perhaps most significantly for the end-user, the company aim to continue feeding the world at an acceptable price thanks to their innovations in technology permitting the use of low cost raw materials.

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P rem i er

T ec h

C h ro n os

Packing INNOVATORS

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premier tech chronos stand out through a plethora of custom technical innovations on the bagging/packaging lines alongside the wecare customer guarantee Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Serge Utting

remier tech chronos is currently the biggest player in the industrial flexible packaging industry in the world. since 1923, premier tech has built its know-how and reputation on the skills and synergy of its three groups: horticulture and agriculture, Industrial equipment, and environmental technologies. premier tech strongly believes that the driving force for the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success has been their team. Through nurturing staff talents and passion, members of the team join forces to promote and implement creative ideas. from america to europe to asia, their multidisciplinary team

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P r e m i e r

Tec h

C h r o n o s

capitalises on the expertise and creativity of over 2,700 individuals who work as one to grow the technological and commercial leadership that secures Premier Tech’s long-term growth.

IEG – Driven by Innovation and Strategy Within the three Groups that make up the company, the Industrial Equipment Group (IEG) – Known as Premier Tech Chronos - further consists of four major business segments: Flexible packaging, rigid packaging, bulk processing and peat moss field equipment. Each sector offers innovative solutions and approaches to complete and integrated systems and projects are tailored to suit the specific needs of customers. “In flexible packaging, Premier Tech Chronos offers complete bag packaging solutions including weighing and feeding, bagging, valve bag filling, palletising and load securing equipment, for a wide range of materials in various industries: pet food, food, growing media, minerals (loose), feed, seeds and crops, forestry, chemicals, insulation to name a few,” explains Premier Tech’s Vice President of Marketing, Simon Roy. Additionally, the Premier Tech Systems arm of the business offers complete end-of-line solutions including conveying, robotic case packing, palletising and load securing equipment for various kinds of containers such as boxes, bundles, cans, kegs, etc. In the lawn and garden market segment, Premier Tech Chronos also offers bulk processing solutions as well as peat moss field equipment, including screening systems, mixing lines, harrows, vacuum harvesters, etc. Premier Tech Chronos (PTC) is recognised worldwide for its innovative and customised

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m A N u f A C t u r i N G

packaging, material handling and bulk processing solutions. through the numerous acquisitions it has made over the last 15 years of its 25 year life – including the likes of chronos richardson, richard simon, Bth (Bag treatment holland), forberg, w.g. Durant, Bag equipment and stonepak - ptc has integrated a great deal of technological knowledge and expertise. as a result, the company now offer the most complete range of equipment in the industry, backed by a strategic plan based on data and experience over the years. “every three years, we take an in-depth look at our strategic plan. we add the essential ingredient: the expectations of our shareholders, partners and team members. then we ask ourselves: where do we stand in relation to the goals that we set three years earlier? are we ahead, behind or

We continue to adapt our equipment to suit market intelligence so that we can provide an end-to-end packaging service”

on target? why? Based on the answers, we determine our future and draw up the plan to get to it, so we always have an up-to-date and thoroughly challenged course to follow supported by clear strategies and action plans,” roy continues: “this is an ongoing process. we are now at the end of our VIsIon 2014, at the mid-point of our VIsIon 2017 and at the start of our VIsIon 2020. we have a clear and constant measurement of how well we are doing. we know if the company has achieved its goals for 2014 and if we are on the way to meeting our 2017 goals.”

New Technologies premier tech chronos stand out through a plethora of custom technical innovations on the bagging/packaging lines such as integrating vertical form, fill and seal technologiess into the production

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P r e m i e r

Tec h

C h r o n o s

line, automated palletising and a new stretch-hooding system. The company has developed several state-of-the-art technologies which are still in the lead today. “We continue to adapt our equipment to suit market intelligence so that we can provide an end-to-end packaging service. For example, if a bag changes from paper to plastic, we need to know years in advance so that we can adapt our machinery to suit the market needs. Not only this, but we also try to reduce air and power consumption of our equipment in order to comply with energy saving,” highlights Roy. The entire IEG team is dedicated to supporting the growth of its customers and providing a safe working environment. In addition, the module automation program allows customers to either start right away with a fully automatic system or purchase a semi-automatic system and easily upgrade it to full automation later on. “In the near future, we are seeking to integrate robotics into all of our systems, as this has been proven to reduce costs,” cites Roy.

WECARE Guarantee

Roy was keen to emphasise that Premier Tech believe it is essential to meet the highest expectations possible when it comes to customer service: “It is a privilege to serve our clients, and as such, we are proud to offer all customers what we call the WECARE Guarantee. This sets us apart from our competitors as our passionate team puts the interests of our customers at the heart of daily decisions.” This philosophy reflects Premier Tech’s company ethos and ensures staff are committed to the success of the business, whilst also feeling rewarded by what they do. “Our code of conduct reflects our belief

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Man u f ac t u r i ng

that our clients are the reason we exist, and that we must ensure our commitment to the success of the business,” Roy adds. The company use the acronym ‘‘DRIVER” to portray the six principles that represent the foundation of the WECARE Guarantee: Deliver on your promises Respond: never leave a customer in limbo Impress: delighting our customers Value: customers and partners Ease: customer experience Respect: show respect, be courteous and smile “In applying the WECARE Guarantee, we aim to meet the highest quality standards, both in our actions and in our attitude toward our clients. Raising the bar in Client Services and Support has been our focus for the last 5-6 years and I am happy to report a 90% satisfaction coming from feedback of 800 customers for our worldwide services,” Roy further reasons, clearly passionate about Premier Tech’s global brand presence in the market.

Re-injecting to Secure their Market Position

As a family-owned company, Premier Tech takes a more personal approach when it comes to investing in the future of the company. “In order to secure company longevity and our position in the market, the owners re-inject every single dollar back into the company each year with a significant focus on continuously innovating in all that we do – whether it is in terms of our brand or customers, this runs through every part of our operations. Our long- term future is key to our strategy to double every five years. Premier Tech is not a company that simply stands still, we are constantly bettering ourselves,” explains Roy. With a view to further expanding the company and establishing themselves in South America within 12 months, accompanied by booming business in their SE Asia operations, Premier Tech are geared towards accelerated growth in both the long and short term future of the business.

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U n i te d

C a st

B a r

ROCK THE

CAST BAR The growing European support for the manufacturing sector is a solid foundation that secures UCBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position in the economy Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Serge Utting

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nited Cast Bar (UCB) are one of the world’s largest manufacturers of continuous cast iron bars, to this date holding the record for the largest bar, measuring in at 665mm in diameter. Moreover, they produce the broadest range and size of any continuous cast iron bar and supply to a wide array of blue chip companies. A cast iron bar (Unibar) can be produced in a multitude of forms to meet customer design requirements. It is commonly used in general engineering applications, but primarily in hydraulic, fluid power and pneumatic equipment. United Cast Bar was formed in 1998 from a merger of 3 companies: Eurocast Bar Limited (UK), Starkey’s Technicast Limited (UK) and Cast Profil SA (Spain); fusing together a wealth of technical expertise and knowledge for the production of cast iron bar, along with a strong distribution network across Europe. In 2001, the ‘Unibar’ brand of products were launched to establish best industry practice and standards of quality, consistency and customer service that exceeded market demands, and to provide the best technical and commercial support.

Delivering Cost Effective Solutions As in most industries, the global market collapse of 2009 affected United Cast Bar. Following investment in melting capacity in their UK facility in 2007, the Group was able to rationalise their production base without any loss of total capacity – consolidating production into the two production facilities they operate today: United Cast Bar (UK) in Chesterfield, UK and Cast Profil in Zaragoza, northern Spain. “In so doing, we are able to produce more material through single site operations, delivering timely and cost effective solutions whilst retaining

lower manufacturing costs overall. As a result, we have been able to remain profitable with a lower break even,” explains James Brand, Managing Director of United Cast Bar (UK). With a network comprising of 8 wholly owned distributors spread across the globe, the company have a route to market that differentiates them from their competitors, as Brand cites: “By having our own distribution network, we have our own shop window in almost every country across Europe along with a new platform in South Korea. This enables us to offer quick and efficient service, whilst remaining economically viable.” United Cast Bar’s strategy of global reach with a local presence enables the local engineering workshop to purchase whatever quantity of unibar material they require locally, rather than having to import from external manufacturing companies. “We keep our warehouses stocked with good volumes at all times. Additionally, each warehouse doubles as a workshop whereby we can tailor a product for a client, rather than just selling them the raw material as a commodity. For example, we can start giving raw materials a nearer shape to what the customer actually wants,” highlights Brand, keen to demonstrate that UCB are a one-stop-shop for your unibar cast iron needs.

Upgrading Facilities Over the last year, UCB have invested heavily in upgrading their melting and liquid metal handling capability at their facility in Spain. In the UK, the company have invested in further process developments - increasing their internal capacity for heat treatment, reorganising their product flow, improving their logistics and stock areas and expanding their warehouse. “Additionally, we will be modernising our production lines and bringing some automation to the

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Un i t ed

C as t

B a r

production casting process, to ensure the longevity of equipment and that we are able to achieve scalability.” There is a growing competition for unibar in Europe, but Brand believes that it is nothing United Cast Bar can’t overcome: “Competition in Europe is as fierce as ever as we begin to see growth after the recession – we still hold a 60 percent market share in the EU. However, our advantage is that we don’t just focus on Europe; we travel to all four corners of the world and see ourselves as a contender in the global market.” “We have partners whom we work with all the way from South America to Australasia, with strong ambitions to open further facilities in the Middle East and South East Asia. Some of our regular customers are in Australia and New Zealand, so you really get the idea we want to build global relationships and business,” adds Brand. Through improving plants and equipment, Brand hopes this will future proof the Group and strengthen business development growth: “Looking further into the future, we will look to new applications, products and markets for further avenues for growth, targeting 8-10 percent growth year on year.” Combining this long term vision with UCB’s current modernisation and expansion plans will secure their position with a market leading product.

Cobal cranes

or nearly four decades, Cobal Cranes has been built on a commitment to provide cost effective yet reliable solutions to all our customers’ requirements and today we remain a respected force in what has become a demanding and competitive field. We carry very large stocks of used cranes, gantries, crane track, hoists, crab units, beams and end carriages available at substantial reductions. We can also offer combinations of new and reconditioned equipment, which is all part of our flexible approach to our customer requirements. A comprehensive and cost effective range of onsite services are on offer and our team of highly skilled and experienced engineers and electricians can cover all of your structural, mechanical and electrical needs, including 24 hour emergency breakdown cover. Tel 01246 292984 Email steve@cobalcranes.com

www.cobalcranes.com

the public form a better understanding of what we do. I don’t believe in closing our doors to the local communities in which we operate.” With support from the local government, UCB are on their way to breaking down these barriers, proud to be one of the best at what they do. As a consequence, Brand sits on the local council project called Destination Chesterfield, as a representative for the Destination Chesterfield manufacturing industry in Chesterfield, and there is a second reason for this: UCB are always keen to assist and “Metallurgy skills are not something the develop the local community. Brand youth of today make a conscious career discussed with us the various activities decision to move into. Therefore, we that the company are involved in and want to inspire people to get excited why: “As you can imagine, the metal’s about our industry by bringing them in manufacturing sector can sometimes and changing the perceptions of what carry a negative and industrialised we do.” image. We are trying to change UCB ensure all their staff receive this within the local community in the option for in-house training, with Chesterfield; breaking down those barriers to the stereotypes our industry some management even going on to carries in the hopes to drive the business complete studies at university. “In an ideal world, I believe that if all the UK forward, whilst simultaneously helping

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Man u f ac t u r i ng

foundries club together, we can share resources and grow the interest in our profession,” emphasises Brand. It is this philosophical and future proof thinking that secured Chesterfield’s win as Derbyshire Times Team of the Year in 2013. Brand further comments: “I am very proud to be involved with this team of people in the UK and across Europe – they work very hard, succeed in difficult conditions and have some fun along the way, making working life a very enjoyable experience. It is a pleasure to be involved with them all.” The growing European support for the manufacturing sector is a solid foundation that secures the UCB’s position in the economy. With an attitude to stay ahead of the market in terms of both quality and product range, UCB will continue to build on their achievements, both industrially and in the community in order to future proof themselves in an evercompetitive market.

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M i n e s t o

Making Waves around the Globe

Minestoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Deep Green tidal power technology is small, lightweight and very efficient and is able to accelerate the water velocity by up to a factor of 10 Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Dave Alexander

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inesto is a marine energy technology company with a patented technology for cost efficient electricity production from tidal and ocean currents. Minestoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s award winning product, Deep Green, is the only known marine power plant that operates cost efficiently in areas with low velocity currents. Deep Green resembles an underwater kite with a wing and a turbine that is attached by a tether to a fixed point on the ocean bed, moving swiftly in an 8-shaped trajectory in the current. Compared to other traditional and renewable energy sources, tidal and ocean current energy is considerably more predictable and reliable; with minimal visual, noise and environmental impact. Marine energy from the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ocean has huge potential. Deep Green, with its low weight and ability to operate in low velocity currents, has several advantages compared to other tidal and ocean current power plants; the catchment area is much larger, and service and maintenance is more cost efficient, resulting in low electricity production costs, comparable with traditional energy sources. Minesto was founded in 2007 by Managing Director Anders Jansson, Saab Group and Chalmers University of Technology, with its base in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Northern Ireland, UK. The major shareholders in Minesto are BGA Invest, Midroc New Technology, Saab Group and Chalmers University of Technology. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We started the company as the technology we have can significantly reduce the material usage for tidal power, and unlock a low velocity resource, whilst still maintaining a very high efficiency. This places us in a position where we can produce cost efficient electricity at low velocity sites, which are more

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m i N E S t o

ELITKOMPOSIT ELITKOMPOSIT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MINESTO

We started the company as the technology we have can significantly reduce the material usage for tidal power, and unlock a low velocity resource, whilst still maintaining a very high efficiency”

Anders Jansson, CEO

is easier to insert the cabling required into the ocean floor as the seabed is often softer than in areas where high velocity tidal is installed.” tidal power has been a growing contributor to the available renewable resources, specifically in the uk. a 2007 study - entitled Assessing the Feasibility of Adapting the Minesto Device to Low Energy Tidal Steams - revealed that alongside the Deep green technology, minesto had the ability to increase the potential tidal energy in the country by 100 The Advantages of Low percent. “again, this is because we Velocity Tidal can unlock potential areas for our technologies where others cannot. cost is not the only advantage for we are looking to install in areas low velocity tidal power. since the with 1.5 metres per second tidal Deep green product is lightweight, velocity, whereas the rest of the the technology is easier to install, industry target 2.4 metres per second service and maintain as Jansson and above. as a result, we hope to highlights: “we can use very small double the tidal sector in the uk and vessels in order to repair and as the industry grows, as will the maintain the structures, which demand for tidal power and our own decreases operational costs for us and uses less energy to repair. also, it subsystems,” emphasises Jansson. common around the world than high velocity,” says Jansson. “compared to other tidal solutions, we weigh on average 14 tonnes per mw, whereas other solutions can weigh up to 300 tonnes per mw,” he adds. as you can imagine, this significant reduction of material required to construct the tidal power structures also means that the capital cost per mw is lower, benefitting Minesto investors and shareholders but more importantly, the electricity consumers.

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litkomposit is a key technology provider to minesto on their journey from conceptual idea to developed product. “we have a solid reputation as problem solvers” says magnus abelsson, ceo. “the technical challenges we face together with minesto have really set our development teams off! we are applying and combining the skills from our space and sub-sea divisions to meet the technical requirements. In addition we use our experiences from the automotive sector to create the most cost effective and scalable solution for volume production.” elitkomposit acts as the hub in a network in which the customer can get access to the latest findings in material- and process technology. focusing from the start on products that require technical boundaries to be pushed ahead, the company has accumulated a unique set of development tools for advanced composites and a deep understanding for the customers´ various needs and preconditions. Services offered range from product development and prototyping to the set-up of production lines and serial production. typical products range in size from a few grams to 1400 kg. elitkomposit is both a producer of components to specification and a system integrator.

Tel +46-522-65 77 60 Email info@elitkomposit.se

www.elitkomposit.se

Regardless of whether your products go deep under water, out into space or anywhere in between - you can rely on us! Supplying quality composites to demanding customers around the globe.

m i N E S t o

although tidal is still considered by some as a niche area, Jansson feels strongly that it will play a key role in the renewable future of not just europe, but the world:“In order to make the transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy, there needs to be a mix of different sources, and I feel tidal will play an important role in this shift; specifically due to its predictability and ability to balance the grid with a reliable source of clean energy,” he continues: “In terms of ocean current, our tidal technology has the same level of up-time as a nuclear power plant, which is sure to play a huge role off the coast of florida, australia, parts of asia and even east africa.”

Conceptual illustration of Deep Green ocean current array

Deep Green

Proving the Impact of Tidal Power the ocean is a harsh environment and subsequently, finding the right materials for construction and being able to test them is a key challenge when it comes to tidal energy. “people need to understand that conducting ocean testing is a cost-intensive, arduous and time consuming process, which means investors need to see any investment in this sector as a long term one.” as a consequence of this common misconception, minesto work with two organisations in order to give tidal power the attention it deserves: the marine strategy Board at renewable uk and the european ocean energy association. furthermore, the company produce regular press releases worldwide in order to educate the appropriate bodies of the different steps they are taking to boost the profile and possibilities of tidal energy. “Indeed, the industry still has a lot to prove, it is still in its infancy. however, our planned 10mw demonstration array in wales, uk, is drawing a lot of attention which is certainly

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Deep Green tidal array

Res

exciting,” cites Jansson. This Deep Green technology site will go into full construction in 2016 and be finalised in 2019. Moreover, Minesto are currently working with SNMREC – a part of Florida University research – in order to install their devices off the coast of the country in the US. “In Chile, we are also looking at our Deep Green technology as a possible solution to drive down the cost of electricity here; as the country currently makes heavy use of diesel generators,” comments Jansson. Additionally, the company are working with a university in Taiwan in order to install a demonstration Deep Green tidal structure, following with commercial construction within five years. “We see Asia as an area with great potential for tidal power, we have a big interest in Korea and Japan and are currently exploring our options there. Minesto is still a young company, and has much more

ces

We have a considerable amount of hours in the water and have proven that our low velocity tidal technology works. The Deep Green technology solves a significant number of issues that the ocean presents and this solution is very different from anything else in the market”

to offer given the right opportunity,” he adds. Nevertheless, Jansson considers the UK as Minesto’s home market, predicting faster growth in the next five years accordingly. “We have a considerable amount of hours in the water and have proven that our low velocity tidal technology works. The Deep Green technology solves a significant number of issues that the ocean presents and this solution is very different from anything else in the market,” Jansson surmises. Minesto’s technology is small, lightweight and very efficient and is able to accelerate the water velocity by up to a factor of 10. This has a positive impact on installation, service and capital cost, thereby providing the end customer with low cost renewable energy, accompanied by a technology that has the potential to more than double the tidal energy opportunities on the globe.

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E n er g i

S v er i g e

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under the watchful eye of managing Director ulf Dahlin, energi sverige’s mission is to increase the competitiveness of the power generation sector by providing advice, support and real prices to business customers in sweden Writer Matt Bone Project Manager Dave Alexander

nergi sverige (energy sweden) are one of the biggest electricity trading companies in scandinavia, who for the last 8 years, have been helping swedish companies and consumers with their need-based electricity contracts, qualified advice and invoice services. energi sverige, which is owned by parent company energi Denmark - Denmark’s leading company in trading business - have grown strongly over the last 5 years thanks to a dedicated team of employees whose entrepreneurial spirit has enabled the company to attract over 10,000 customers across several different industries, both in the private and public sectors. ulf Dahlin, managing Director of energi sverige, has overseen this organic growth and puts it down to not only having a dedicated staff, but also the time spent analysing market trends: “we have really seen the business grow over the last few years and although there are many contributing factors, the two that really stand out are our staff’s working ethos and our attention to market trends. our employees are constantly liaising with consumers and businesses to work out the best deal possible to suit their needs, and then tailoring a package accordingly that will meet those needs. we keep a very close eye on how the market is fluctuating in terms of new technology and innovation as well as changes in consumer attitudes, and this allows us to price our electricity fairly and within consumer spending levels.” energi sverige had a long-term growth strategy in mind when they launched their swedish operations in late 2006, and since

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E ne r g i

S v e r i ge

WHERE ELECTRICITY COMES FROM

Sweden are striving to create an even split between renewable energy supply and fossil fuel supply powering their grid, and Energi Sverige are keen to show that their energy is already 40% renewably produced. As the energy production mix is under continuous change, these are 2013’s final mix results for Energi Sverige:

39.21%

RENEWABLE

23.78%

NUCLEAR

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Nuclear waste (g / kWh) CO2 (g / kWh)

0.0010747 324.697

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37.01%

FOSSIL

that time they have exceeded those expectations by a wide margin, including already fulfilling the long term target of sales of 5 TWh (Terawatts per hour) in the Swedish market. In order to put this figure into perspective, this amount of electricity could power the entirety of Cyprus for one year. “In 2013, the company saw a turnover of SEK 2.8 billion and as of August we are already at 2 billion SEK, which is a very good return for us heading into the final quarter of the year. With the night’s getting longer and Christmas approaching, electricity usage will go up and we will continue to provide our clients with the best level of electrical service available,” remarks Dahlin.

New Energy Laws Renewable energy has become one of the biggest trends in the Scandinavian markets of late. With Sweden being surrounded by the North and Baltic Seas, and during summer averaging over 300 hours of sunshine per month, the renewable capabilities of the country are impressive. Wind farms on the coastline and offshore offer even more natural power generation, and Energi Sverige are keen to utilise as much of the green energy as possible as Dahlin explains: “Environmental farms producing green electricity are becoming more prevalent in the country and we are eager to work with them in order to increase our use of renewable energy. We are dedicated to our surrounding environment and keeping it as pristine as possible but we are also a business, so striking a balance between clean, renewable energy and a sustainable revenue model is tough but one we face with clear goals.” In December 2010, Sweden passed a law stating that consumers should have access to information about where their electricity comes from. This law created an

Utility in Control DENMARK

CHARLOTTENLUND - KOLDING PHONE: +45 3990 9191 WWW.SONLINC.DK

openness and awareness among electricity consumers and ensured that electricity providers were fully transparent in showing customers the required data. “the law passed a few years ago really gave consumers power over seeing where their electricity came from. we were pleased for this change as we could then show that we were providing nearly 40% of our electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and bio energy,” highlights Dahlin.

Becoming Nordic Number One

with competition becoming stronger in the nordic region, energi sverige are looking at new ways of attracting customers to the company. as such, they have been utilising their existing business to bring awareness to others of what Energi Sverige can offer. on the rooftop of the national mail building in stockholm, energi sverige have placed solar panels in order to

We are dedicated to our surrounding environment and keeping it as pristine as possible but we are also a business, so striking a balance between clean, renewable energy and a sustainable revenue model is tough but one we face with clear goals”

create additional power supplies for the building without having to create an additional power need on the grid. this was done in order to generate more power for the business without having to increase output on the national grid. Already offering consumer friendly, competitive rates and services, Dahlin has been looking at ways the energi sverige brand can bring more customers into the fold. “one thing we have been working on over recent months is our brand name and market presence. By really promoting the name energi sverige and what we stand for in terms of greener, cleaner energy for sweden, we believe that more customers will look to join us in the long term and really help us to not only become the number one electricity provider in sweden, but also encourage the increased use of renewable power in sweden,” concludes Dahlin.

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D E L O P O R T S

THE

Black Sea

BASTION

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DELOPORTS have implemented an investment programme over the last 3-4 years, with a view to become the operator of the most modern and fastest growing dry cargo terminals in the Black Sea region Writer Matt Bone Project Manager Arron Rampling

ELOPORTS is a holding company that owns and operates container, grain terminals and a bunkering service company, situated in the southeast region of Novorossiysk, Russia. This Black Sea port is perfectly situated to offer a logistical haven for containerised import cargoes coming to main consumption centres in the European part of Russia, as well as for handling Russian exports, such as oil, grain, metals, timber products etc. DELOPORTS was founded in 2012 by consolidating stevedoring assets of Delo Group. DELOPORTS actively invests in the development of terminals and storage infrastructure, equipment and human capital in order to improve the level of its services. Andrei Bubnov, Chief Financial Officer of DELOPORTS, has overseen the recent investments and terminal upgrades being undertaken by the company, and believes that it has put DELOPORTS in a commanding position as the premier port operator on the Russian Black Sea coast: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have implemented an investment programme over the last 3-4 years, with a view on capitalising on the increasing volumes of Russian grain exports and on containerised cargo shipments to and from Russia. This has already paid dividends for us in terms of modern capacities and turnover. We have placed a strong emphasis on utilising the space we have and creating an efficient operating area.â&#x20AC;? Investing in your own infrastructure can make or break a company. DELOPORTS is investing money in revamping existing port facilities by the waterfront

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D E LO P ORT S

with new technologically advanced equipment, and improving adjacent port infrastructure such as rail, auto, electricity and logistics. “The new investment initiative we have been rolling out enables us to really maximise the limited space we have to ensure we can handle the largest workload possible,” cites Bubnov.

Sergey Shishkarev, Founder of Delo Group

Operational Challenges

Companies working in Russia are often presented with unique challenges. For instance, DELOPORTS is faced with the necessity to invest in adjacent port infrastructure, such as rail, whereby elsewhere in the world, it would have been provided for by the state or relevant port authorities. DELOPORTS’ assets are also subject to heavy regulation and other inefficiencies when it comes to interaction with state institutions (border control, customs, port authorities etc). “We have learned to navigate in these conditions

Timofey Telyatnik – Chief Executive Officer Deloports

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The new investment initiative we have been rolling out enables us to really maximise the limited space we have to ensure we can handle the largest workload possible”

www.pwc.ru This year PwC celebrates 25 years of successful work in Russia. We provide assurance, tax and advisory services to Russian and international companies. PwC offices now operate in 10 Russian cities.

David Gray Managing Partner, PwC Russia

I would be happy to meet you and tell you more about our Russian practice and PwC’s global network, as well as introduce you to some of our 2,600 people in Russia and 184,000 colleagues working with us globally. We help organisations and individuals create the value they`re looking for.

Address: White Square Office Center 10 Butyrsky Val Moscow, Russia, 125047 Tel.: +7 (495) 967-6000

© 2014 PwC. All rights reserved. PwC refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers Russia B.V. and PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal CIS B.V. or, as the context requires, other member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity.

2012 – 2013 Investment Progress 1st stage of Deloports investment programme completed – dry cargo throughput capacity increased to 9 million tonnes per year; 5-track onsite railway yard constructed and put into operation: doubling of container terminal storage capacity, railway reception of grain commenced;

Andrei Bubnov, Chief Financial Oﬃcer

completion of the 2nd stage of construction of grain terminal ksk, increasing capacity to 3.5 million tonnes per year; construction of a specialised yard for ro-ro car operations.

Dmitry Pankov, Chief Legal Oﬃcer

and consider them a part of our working environment. we are working closely with authorities to remove these inefficiencies, a process where we create value not just for ourselves, but for our industry as a whole,” mr Bubnov highlights. mr Bubnov has overseen the sale of a 25% stake plus one share in the ksk grain terminal to us company cargill. as a result of this deal, cargill received one of the five seats on the board of directors of the company. ksk is one of the largest grain terminals on the russian Black sea coast. It has the capacity to handle 3.5 million tonnes per year. ksk’s grain handling volume has increased at a cagr of 36% between 2010-2013 to reach 1.3 million tonnes. In 2014 alone, the first period of year-round operations - post the grain terminal reconstruction - the terminal already handled 1.8 million with excellent prospects before the year-end,

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D E LO P ORT S

KZP Kubanexpo

CHS Europe

GRAIN

Outspan

TOP 5S BY T CLIENLUME VO

Cosco Evergreen

CMA-CGM

CONTAINERS

Admiral

given the beginning of the harvest season. “Our transaction with Cargill was very important for us in that it was a stamp of quality for the recently completed project and a guarantee of future supply for the terminal. It was also important for the battered Russian investment climate since it demonstrated that Russian greenfield projects are able to capture attention of internationally renowned companies, pass a thorough due diligence process, present a strong business model and a sound CargilL corporate governance case,” remarks Bubnov.

Current Growth and Future Plans One of the key reasons for strong growth so far has been focused and timely investments based on a general territory development plan that was developed in 2010-11. The Group also has a balanced model – mostly imports-focused NUTEP, which represents an equal proportion of DELOPORTS’ operations to exportfocused KSK. Dollar-denominated tariffs make the Group resilient to rouble fluctuations. In addition, DELOPORTS extracts synergies by way of offering bunkering, agency and freight forwarding services at its terminals. Since inception of DELOPORTS, the company has enjoyed uninterrupted doubledigit growth rates in throughput and key Maersk financial indicators. 2014 will continue the trend thanks to the improvements and investment having been made in the expansion of the terminals. In 2015 however, Mr Bubnov believes that growth will

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BERTH 38 DELOPORTS development plans in the containers business are directly linked with the brownfield container terminal project called “Pier 38” as Mr Bubnov elaborates: “This fall we started building a new pier at the NUTEP container terminal in order to double our capacity and be able to handle larger container ships. Pier 38 will be an extension of the existing pier attached to the breakwater. The existing mall reaches out into the sea – hence sufficient natural depths. We believe that this will be a breakthrough project because it will be the first service that can handle direct calls for mother ocean container vessels, which could reshape the entire Black Sea market by allowing these vessels to bypass the traditional transhipment hubs of Constanta (Romania), Illychivsk (Ukraine) and Istanbul (Turkey) – at least for intra-Mediterranean and intraEurope lines, and ideally for lines going to and from South East Asia.”

The only berth in Novorossiysk to be capable to serve ocean container vessels of up to

10,000TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit)

Depth of berth: up to

Total area of the new territory is

HECTARES

15.6M 340M length

The terminal capacity is to increase from 350 to

600-700 THOUSAND TEUs

FACTS

be slower, as the terminals reach their project capacity, necessitating further expansion projects and investments to continue the upward trend. In the first 6 months of 2014, DELOPORTS container terminal NUTEP handled 1,396 thousand tonnes of containerised cargo, which is 6% ahead of 2013’s half-yearly report. Grain handling at KSK grain terminal from January to June 2014 increased 10 times compared to the same period in 2013, with grain throughput reaching 1,063 thousand tonnes. The Ro-Ro segment demonstrated a 34% decline in terms of cargo turnover, but a 46% increase of units handled, due to growth of less heavy but more marginal auto car trans-shipments. In the first 6 months of 2014, the port terminals handled 282 thousand tonnes of RoRo cargo; or 23 thousand units.

Planning for Success With reports showing double-digit growth for throughput by the Group terminals for the last 3 years, DELOPORTS is in a commanding position to continue registering strong growth in the foreseeable future, providing that the investment being made into terminal expansion and the successful launch of Berth 38 sees a good ROI. Bubnov is a firm believer that early planning and uptake of the projects has been the key reason for DELOPORTS’ success: “The primary key to our success has been a good strategy backed by our shareholders, strong programme documents which, at inception, were developed with a comprehensive understanding of the complex development of the area. By utilising the careful planning from the beginning, we have been able to allocate our resources carefully, ensuring that at all times they were both commercially and technically viable,” concludes Bubnov.

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R O S h E n

Perfection Wrapped Chocolate in

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europe outlook spoke with Inna petrenko, head of public relations at roshen confectionary corporation, about the sweet success it has seen in europe Writer Matt Bone Project Manager Glen Newton

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RO S H E N

Q&A So tell me about ROSHEN in your own words

Inna Petrenko, Head of Public Relations at ROSHEN

100

ROSHEN Confectionery Corporation has become one of the world’s largest manufacturers of confectionery products, having been founded in 1996. We have our head office in Kiev, Ukraine and additionally we have 7 production factories – including in Lithuania, Hungary and Ukraine. We export our products to over 30 countries around the world. ROSHEN produces over 320 kinds of confectionery products including chocolate bars, chocolate, jelly sweets, hard candies, biscuits, sponge cakes and wafers. We have a total overall production of over 450 thousand tonnes per year. To remain a leader, just moving forward is not enough; we must set the pace for the whole industry. That is why our operation has always been firmly based on two fundamentals – quality and innovation.

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All of our factories are provided with state-of-the-art equipment from the world’s leading manufacturers. Each stage of operation, from recipe development to a start-up of a new production line, is executed under a strict code of requirements. The production units of ROSHEN Confectionery Corporation are all certified in accordance with the requirements of the international quality and food safety standards. What makes your products unique in the chocolate and confectionary industry? The unique selling point of our business is the high quality standards we maintain, which are implemented at every stage starting from recipes, including strict control of raw materials, production process standards, improved and innovative storage standards and ending with the control system products delivery.

We never compromise on the quality of our products and services! It is our focal point as a confectionery producer, helping to maintain our long term relationship with partners and high loyalty of our consumers in the countries in which we are present. The company produces a large assortment of confectionery in different categories, which ensures the satisfaction of wide consumer preferences along with the fulfillment of our partnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs in the sales sphere, such as distributors and retail chains. How does ROSHEN handle and move such high volumes of confectionary? Within one 8 hour shift, ROSHEN produces over one million kilos of confectionery. To keep up the pace, the company developed and constructed the most advanced logistics centres in the towns of

Yahotin and Lipetsk. The centres meet all the standards of an A Class logistics complex and are outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment. The storage area of the Lipetsk distribution centre is 32,000m2, with a 62,000-pallet capacity and the total area of the Yahotin center is 60,000m2 offering a pallet capacity of over 67,000. This means we can handle some of the highest volumes of confectionary in Europe. Our Quality Management System (following the international standard requirements ISO 9001:2008) was implemented in all our confectionery factories in order to maintain our high level of dedication to perfection. Every six minutes, for three hundred and sixty five days, one 53-foot trailer loaded with confectionery goods leaves ROSHENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s warehouse. Each day we have an average of 82 ROSHEN trailers going out on delivery. The

total distance driven by our trucks each day adds up to a distance surpassing the length of the Equator. The monthly mileage of the ROSHEN fleet exceeds 500,000 kilometers. Each vehicle is equipped with an advanced commodity flow controland-management system. Therefore, we can control the quality of goods not only during production, but also throughout delivery. What has ROSHEN been doing over the last two years? Starting from 2012, ROSHEN Confectionery Corporation has been selling and also producing its confectionery products on the territory of the European Union, under the trade mark Bonbonetti. The production facilities are located in Hungary, in Budapest City. Bonbonetti Choco Kft is one of the largest chocolate production factories in Hungary.

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RO S H E N

On September 5, 2013 we proudly opened ROSHEN’s first Bonbonetti brand store in Europe, in Budapest City. The total square of the store constitutes 80m2 and every ROSHEN and Bonbonetti brand store is executed in its exclusive style, with a unique shop-window installation. The store has a full range of trade mark Bonbonetti confectionery products, and additional brand-new products, such as chocolate coated dragée, praline, which you can only buy in this shop. Here we also offer our customers a rare and exclusive opportunity to make their own selection of handmade praline candies. Tell me about the recent trends you’ve witnessed and how you intend to capitalise on them With consumers very much committed to buying confectionary, the global chocolate confectionery market is expected to continue to grow through 2014 to top US$91 billion, an increase on 2013. Manufacturers continue to innovate around a number of flavours, both sweet and savory, and consumers are increasingly curious enough to give even the most outrageous flavours a try. With this in mind, we have been looking at potential new flavours and bases for our chocolates and products in order to tap into this new market of experimentation. Tell me about the successes ROSHEN have seen in the confectionary markets According to the results of the independent rating surveys, being held in the framework of the Annual Trade Mark Competition Leaders of Success in Ukraine, we were overall winners in the categories of chocolate bar, wafer cake and crisp bar categories. This was important for us to see just where our products were

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MAZZETTI RENATO

AZZETTI RENATO S.R.L. is a company with over 40 years experience in engineering and manufacturing of plants for the production of chocolate, cream and by-products destined to the confectionery industry. Established in 1972 in Tribiano, near Milan, the company has continued to achieve experiences which have bought about developments of proper and original manufacturing technology for the chocolate industry. Every engineered plant is custom made, expandable and updated according to customers’ needs; each customer is constantly followed, starting from the definition of the plant characteristics up to the optimization and development of the production. The plants and equipment are designed, manufactured and tested by the company in its own workshop, and are used all over the world, from Europe to the Americas and Asia. We have developed long partnerships with many market leading companies, supplying plants for product preparation and molding lines, and also offering services like technological pipelines and chocolate tempering systems. All of the above reasons have allowed Mazzetti to be a real supporting partner for all our customers, both past and present.

Tel + 39 02 9063 1159 Email info@mazzettirenato.it www.mazzettirenato.it

RO S H E N

pitted against the competition and provided insight into the eyes of our biggest critics: the consumer. By the decision of the three expert boards represented by the Consumers (40%), the Experts (40%) and the Jury of Successful People (20%)… Roshen Chocolate Bar was an Absolute Success Leader 2011 in the category of chocolate bar Roshen Chocolate Castle is an Absolute Success Leader 2011 in the category wafer cake Roshen Schtuchka is an Expert Leader 2011 in the category crisp bar The company is constantly winning awards in different categories of the products and brand awards. Also according to the survey made in Switzerland for ROSHEN Chocolate, the company received high appreciation, overall liking and high purchase intent on the homeland of chocolate. According to the world rating Candy Industry TOP-100 list of world’s largest confectionery companies, ROSHEN has ranked among the top20 for the last 3 years. What are ROSHEN’s aims, targets and projections for 2014 and beyond? The strategy is to develop our presence on the markets worldwide and to continue to expand our market shares in the 30 countries that we are currently present in. Over the next 5 years, we would like to enter new markets via retail chains and via the ROSHEN brand store chain. It will not be an easy task when you look at the number of high quality confectionary manufacturers present in Europe, but we believe that our brand is strong enough to go head to head with the competition and gain us new consumers.

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How important are CSR initiatives to ROSHEN? In 2010, the ROSHEN Corporation opened a Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Entertainment Centre in Vinnitsa, Ukraine. We felt that our youngest customers, who are the most avid candy lovers, would relish the chance to be able to interact with the chocolate process. Here, kids can take a tour through five rooms that feature fascinating facts about sugar, chocolate, hard candies, taste and flavours, watch a 4D chocolate movie and enjoy interactive communication with a robot. Since 2004, the Corporation has implemented the project Land of Childhood ROSHEN as the framework for the installation of over 80 modern playgrounds in Ukrainian cities. The representatives of the Corporation constantly monitor the safety of the playgrounds and provide technical maintenance, which guarantees the safety of children. Since 2005, an

educational and entertainment program for school children has been implemented at ROSHEN factories including a free of charge tour of the facility. Finally, what would you say is secret to ROSHENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success? In addition to the high quality raw ingredients we use in our products, I think the secret is down to producing a large assortment of confectionery across different categories, which ensures the satisfaction of a wider array of consumers. Moreover, the company spends a great deal of time analysing the market dynamics and consumer needs in order to propose new ideas or potential substitution of the products which potentially could lose us customers. When you break it down, consumer tastes change and if we are not changing with them then we will no longer be a market leader.

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Q u i n t e n s

G r o u p

–MADE IN–

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Quintens Group works actively with clients to ensure individual bakeries develop a bread concept that suits a shop’s identity Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Glen Newton

uintens Group aims to be the sustainable and profitable supplier of fresh bread and confectionary for large-scale distribution in Belgium. The company wish to achieve this by offering a complete selection of products, by guaranteeing artisan quality, by respecting regional preferences, and by working with local bakeries. “Our most important attractions are the regional insertion of our bakeries, our customer service, and of course the outstanding quality of our products. We are literally and figuratively close to the customer. Our bakeries are less than 50km from each retail location. That is how we guarantee the absolute freshness of all our products, seven days a week.” In addition to the emphasis on quality, Quintens Group’s excellent customer service ensures the company offer customers sufficient help and guidance by determining the ideal selection for the bakery shop concerned, developing special offers, training staff, and planning the presentation of the assortment. “Thanks to our regional insertion, we have tradespeople that know the favourites, appearances, and sizes of each region.”

Quintens Group: Family Bakers since 1979 In 1979, the Quintens family bakery was established in Heusden-Zolder. That was the basis for a company that expanded into an enterprise with around 1,000 permanent and temporary employees. Especially in the 90s, the company

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Q u i n t ens

G r o u p

KEY FACTS In order to deliver our regular flour, we need more than

100

Growing wheat for our flour takes up

4,100

HECTARES OF FARMLAND

BULK TRUCKS

Each year, we use

200,000 KG OF BUTTER

MILLION EGGS

and

The length of all the crates that we deliver each year would be

All the BREAD that we produce on an annual basis in a row would go around the globe twice

14,500

Stacked on top of each other, all those crates would build a tower

12,000

15 MONTHS

FOOTBALL FIELDS Our trucks drive more than 6 MILLION KILOMETRES per year all together. That is 150 times around the globe

times higher than the Eiffel Tower

The content of the crates is just as big as all the beer that Belgians drink in

1,000

108

KG OF FRUIT

KILOMETRES LONG That is from Brussels to Beijing and back

All crates next to each other would cover the surface of

150

200,000

80% of our customers receive our deliveries BEFORE SUNRISE. Quintens gets up early in order to get fresh bread into stores

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developed due to internal growth and a fusion with six local bakeries. In order to guarantee the local character and the freshness of the selection, the Group chose bakeries with old regional traditions that go nearly 100 years back: Bakery De Man in Asse, 1989 Le Bon Grain in Morlanwelz, 1992, Belgium’s oldest bakery Quality Bakers in Diest, 1994 W. Farrazijn Bakery in Ardooie, 1997 Van Strombeek Bakery in Asse, 2002 Panifood in Morlanwelz, 2005

Focus on Quality and Production Infrastructure Achieving the best quality can only be done by allowing people and systems to work in harmony. In the Quintens Group bakeries, the focus is on quality through ensuring the correct choice of supplier, monitoring all the ingredients, product verification, and final checks. “Our bakers have put together the best recipes for the base products as well as the regional specialties.” The Quintens Group production process guarantees perfect bread. Each bakery can optimally monitor every phase of the preparation and baking process. “This enables us to better preserve the artisanal and typical taste of each product. We have special ovens for baking our bread on stone for example.”

Adapted Logistics Smart logistics bring Quintens’ fresh products to their customers under ideal circumstances. Cakes and pastries are transported in airtight cool compartments in trucks. “This is how we guarantee that you will receive them fresh and in one piece, and we fulfil the strictest food safety regulations.” Additionally, Quitens’ bakeries comply with HACCP, food safety and hygiene regulations. Moreover, all of their branches are

IFS-certified, with staff who are continuously trained so that they can deliver a safe product to customers. coupled with this is the complaint management and quality service, which regularly conducts strict internal quality and hygiene audits, where the customer’s standards are upheld. the Quintens group complaint management system ensures that all customer questions or comments receive an answer. “that is how we want to keep improving customer satisfaction, which is a priority in all of our branches.”

Branding Assistance

a balanced selection of national and regional specialties is one thing, however to present that selection in a pleasing and organised fashion is another thing. Quintens are able to help individual bakeries to develop the bread concept that suits a shop’s identity through a series of direct questions:

What are the specific characteristics of your location or sales approach? what is typical for your local sales situation?

Cakes and pastries are transported in airtight cool compartments in trucks. This is how we guarantee that you will receive them fresh and in one piece, and we fulfil the strictest food safety regulations”

where would you place your bread department and how would you arrange it? which assortment would you select? Which promotions can you offer and in which form? how can you limit surpluses? how do you prepare for festive periods? “We help you find the right answer to all your questions. Quintens group advises you before, during, and after starting up. we discuss the sales result and any possible adjustments. In short, Quintens group works actively with you to make your bread department truly successful!”

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C h i psters

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Lt d

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Chipsters offer fish and fish related products at competitive prices, whilst providing excellent customer service and a high quality final product Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Glen Newton

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hipsters Food Ltd is a fast-growing Finnish foodstuffs company with traditional values, providing high quality delicacies from the land and sea, for both commercial and domestic kitchens. “Our products taste of the ripeness, purity and freshness of the Finnish archipelago. We offer our customers a range of products that are attractive and affordable, accompanied by excellent customer service and efficient internal quality operations.”

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The majority of the company’s food products are HoReCa (Hotel/ Restaurant/Cafe) products, but they also provide consumer products to retail stores. Chipsters is a leading brand in Finland when it comes to the best fresh and frozen fish and fishrelated products.

Only the Freshest Produce

With operational roots that can be traced back to 1934, Chipsters have a long tradition of providing high quality products and simple packaging

Foo

solutions, to prolong the fresh taste of their fish. The company’s business is customer-focused, with a secure supply chain and skilled personnel serving as the fundamental building blocks for their deliciously healthy and extensive food range. The company have offices in Kerava, Naantali and Vaajakoski, Finland, which enables them to have a distribution and sales network that stretches nationwide. Additionally, the company’s own fish processing plant is in Mariehamn, the capital of the Åland islands. “We

have also gone out to the oceans in order to offer our customers the broadest range of fish products as possible. The salinity of the waters out here gives us access to shrimp, seafood or ocean fish for example.” Their location ensures that the process of catching and processing fresh produce is done in an efficient and timely manner. As such, 70% of all fish produce come from farms just 20 minutes away from their fish factory. “We are the only Finnish fish farmer with production facilities, cultivation and fishery areas in Åland. It is extremely important that seafood is handled carefully as fish is a delicate and perishable food, and we cannot stress enough the importance maintaining refrigeration temperatures during transit, and handling the fish correctly.” Consequently, Chipsters guarantees superior quality of its products by chilling the fish immediately after capture, and implementing a carefully planned cold chain of transport to the customer. During the processing stages, Chipsters combine their 80 years experience in fish processing with the latest technological innovations. Fish is immediately cooled after fishing

It is extremely important that seafood is handled carefully as fish is a delicate and perishable food, and we cannot stress enough the importance maintaining refrigeration temperatures during transit, and handling the fish correctly”

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C h i ps t e r s

F o o d

L t d

and a carefully planned, uninterrupted cold chain and packaging methods that promote the sustainability of the fish - ensures the ultimate freshness. “We dare say that our fish products are fresher than most of the products available from retail fish counters!” When it comes to commercial foods, Chipsters is the leading Finnish brand of fresh and frozen fish and associated products. “In addition to fish, we have a plethora of foods in our catalogue including game, meat and chicken, as well as mushrooms, berries, and pre-treated vegetables and fruits.” Moreover, the company have first-class partners such as the Porvoo-based company Rowenbranch Food Ltd, who manufacture Chipsters’ salads, sauces, pâté and terrines. “We have exclusive rights to the marketing of these products. Our product fulfils professional criteria, bringing fresh produce to local retailers.”

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At the Heart of the Archipelago

We have also gone out to the oceans in order to offer our customers the broadest range of fish products as possible”

The Nordic regions are surrounded by a wealth of immaculate islands and landscapes, some of which have been left untouched by modern man. Subsequently, Chipsters strive to keep their activities as environmentally sustainable as possible. “We want to ensure that future generations will be able to utilise the sea’s gifts. With this in mind, we comply with the conditions for a sustainable fishing industry in accordance with the government guidelines, the World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace and the Game of Fisheries Research Institute.” As the catching of domestic wild fish decreases year by year due to increased demand, it is vital that Chipsters understand the impact on the environment and fish as a resource. “We carefully select not only where we farm, but we source sustainable recycled packaging from local suppliers; this reduces our impact on the environment.”

Pure gourmet food straight from the Arctic ® www.prawnsofnorway.com

to identify and manage the environmental impact of company operations in accordance with their policies, chipsters follow the environmental management system based on the Iso 14001 standard. “we comply with the ongoing changes and development of environmental and safety legislations and act in accordance with laws, regulations and license conditions.”

Educating Staff

chipsters live and breathe the above green values and in turn, they instruct and train their staff to ensure that environmental, health and safety issues are addressed at every level of food processing. “we inform our employees about environmental issues and their development. we talk openly to authorities, partners and other stakeholders regarding our activities and their environmental effects.” In addition, the company sets annual

In addition to fish, we have a plethora of foods in our catalogue including game, meat and chicken, as well as mushrooms, berries, and pre-treated vegetables and fruits”

goals in order to continuously decrease the impact of their footprint.

Guaranteed Freshness

Chipsters offer products at competitive prices, whilst providing excellent customer service and a high quality final product. “This is thanks to an efficient business process and our wide range of foods which all meet the horeca sector criteria. this is what makes chipsters the leading brand of fresh and frozen fish and fish related products in finland.”

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a M R E S T

Everything isPossible The long standing significance of the “Everything is Possible” mantra for AmRest emulates the entrepreneurial spirit of the company’s founders and the company’s ambitious growth plans Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Glen Newton

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A m r E S t

mrest holdings se (amrest, wse: eat) is the largest independent restaurant operator in central and eastern europe with a growing international presence. since 1993, the company have been building a portfolio of well recognised, power brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Starbucks based on a solid franchise and joint venture partnerships. amrest also owns the La Tagliatella brand in spain which is being developed internationally as both company operated restaurants and franchised stores. recently, amrest acquired two unique brands operating in china: Blue Frog and Kabb. today, amrest operates over 750 category leading quick service and casual dining restaurants, with headquarters situated in the southern Polish city of Wrocław. Through their “everything is possible” culture,

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Most restaurant holding companies are regional, whereas we have spread our wings across Central and Eastern Europe in order to provide for the ever-growing quick service market as a multi-brand operator”

every day 20,000 amrest employees in 12 countries across 7 brands deliver delicious food and exceptional service at affordable prices. “Most restaurant holding companies are regional, whereas we have spread our wings across central and eastern europe in order to provide for the ever-growing quick service market as a multi-brand operator,” explains wojciech mroczynski, executive Director of amrest.

Wszystko Jest Mozliwe – Everything is Possible running throughout amrest’s history is the idea that “everything is possible” or “wJm”. In 1993, the ceo and founder of amrest, henry mcgovern, along with his business partners acquired a prime property at the beautiful, main square of Wrocław, a city in southwestern poland. one of the partners, Don kendal sr, a longtime chairman and ceo of PepsiCo,

challenged henry to open a Pizza Hut on the ground floor of their newly acquired building. shortly after they received an offer for the Pizza Hut franchise. “such an opportunity could not be missed and thus, the everything is possible (Wszystko Jest Mozliwe, in Polish) mantra was born,” affirms mroczynski. “the phrase was repeated over and over to any naysayers and the restaurant was opened, with outstanding success and on time, in november 1993. the philosophy of Everything is Possible has fuelled our entrepreneurial culture throughout the company’s life.” from its roots as a small restaurant start-up business, amrest has now become one of the largest players in the quick service and casual dining sector.

Continually Growing Portfolio since 2005, amrest has been a public company, listed on the warsaw stock exchange. as one

Taking on this leading brand is a new chapter for us; a lot of people do not know that Spain has the largest market per capita for the restaurant market. This means that initial business has been very successful”

of the first operators of foreign restaurants in central and eastern europe (cee), amrest’s extensive portfolio continues to grow; on average, they open a new restaurant every three days. “more recently, we have acquired western-style concepts –Blue Frog and Kabb restaurants - in some of the major chinese cities, which is proving to be highly profitable and scalable. This further expands our reach as at the moment, around half of our portfolio is in poland,” mroczynski says. three years ago amrest acquired Italian restaurant chain La Tagliatella in spain, and mroczynski is excited for the new expansion opportunities this is bringing: “taking on this leading brand is a new chapter for us; a lot of people do not know that spain has the largest market per capita for the restaurant market. this means that initial business has been very successful.”

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A m Res t

“Our business model rests on three pillars: People, Brand, Scale” Before AmRest, there was no heritage in the quick service and casual dining industries in CEE as Mroczynski highlights: “In the beginning, securing people was one of our key challenges when developing our business. We had to develop people and their expertise from the ground up as there was no expertise to be hired.” As with any restaurant business, millions of interactions are made each day both internally within the company and externally with their customer base. “As a result, all of our processes start and end with people,” adds Mroczynski. “Operational excellence is what distinguishes a good player from a great player, and we believe this is one of the reasons we have been so successful,” states Mroczynski. This can only be achieved by bringing the right people on board and providing them with the right systems and tools to ensure excellence in how we operate. AmRest go to great lengths to provide high quality restaurants and accompanying services, including sourcing fresh chicken for their KFC branches, even going as far as marinating the fresh meat on site. “This high consistency really makes a difference. Even though KFC is not our own brand, we have treated it as our own since day one.” The second part of AmRest’s unique selling proposition is leading brands. “We make the point to always choose reputable brands, which are leaders in their respective categories. We strive for the best restaurants in order to secure scalable businesses, which can only be secured if you have a unique business model; ours includes seeing through the eyes of our customers.” As the company continue to increase the number of restaurants under

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their belt, further emphasis is placed on the happiness of their customers. “The first two ingredients, i.e. People and Brands, are indispensable to drive our growth and ensure the necessary Scale, our third component of success formula. It matters not only in such typical areas as achieving economies of scale in purchasing, accessing attractive locations or being able to launch effective marketing campaigns. Scale also opens up a lot of new growth opportunities for our people and our shareholders,” Mroczynski adds: “Truly a win-win outcome!”

BHAG Aspiration BHAG - or Big Hairy Audacious Growth - is a popular term at AmRest that comes from the book From Good to Great by Jim Collins. When discussing long term growth plans with Mroczynski, the BHAG aspiration

Our shareholders are important to us, and we want to make sure that they receive adequate returns, whilst exceeding expectations”

really works for AmRest: “In the next 10-20 years, we strive to surpass the US$1 billion sales mark which we are currently reaching. With McDonalds as the biggest player in this sector, we are ambitious and wish to overturn this one day, becoming the largest globally. If our past is anything to go by and we continue growing at the current pace, we will catch up with them by 2032. Though this is a distant and stretch aspiration it provides for us a clear sense of direction.” Further, Mroczynski wants to grow both the top line and bottom line faster so that shareholders can see an ambitious 20+ percent return: “Our shareholders are important to us, and we want to make sure that they receive adequate returns, whilst exceeding expectations. Therefore, continuing to fuel our growth means that we can continue to open new restaurants and achieve profitable expansion.”

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A m r E S t

Henry McGovern- Founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board

MCCAIN mccain is the world’s largest manufacturer of frozen french fries and potato specialties and is proud of active partnership with amrest company. the mccain continental europe region spans 45 countries and has production sites in Belgium, france, poland and the netherlands, which are part of mccain foods limited, a family owned company based in florenceville, new Brunswick and toronto, ontario, canada. mccain is europe’s potato expert, cooperates with farmers with a long term perspective to create the most sustainable supply chain “from field to fork”.

Wojciech Mroczynski- Chief Strategy Oﬃcer

Tel +48 510 222 911 Email piotr.mrozinski@mccain.pl

www.mccain.com

Bringing Fun to Life AmRest recognise that profit is not the sole purpose of their business and with some 20,000 employees on hand, both staff and customer happiness is crucial for the business to succeed. “with over 120 million transactions made per year in our restaurants, it is not just about the money that changes hands. as the majority of our staff are in customerfacing positions, we have to nurture a positive energy and attitude within our staff. We believe no amount of training will change a negative attitude, therefore we insist on hiring people with a positive attitude who have fun working and are engaged at work.” further reinforcing this core value is amrest’s back to basics programme, where even those in senior managerial positions, including all executive team members, are tasked with a few restaurant shifts. “at the end of it

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We want employees to feel more engaged in what they do... Senior management need to be role models who live and breathe our core values to our general staff”

all, we want employees to feel more engaged in what they do. I have to say that I found it a very enlightening experience; it is really refreshing and you learn a significant amount about your people, business and customers. senior management need to be role models who live and breathe our core values to our general staff,” Mroczynski emphasises. moreover, for the last couple of years the company conduct an annual engagement survey with nearly 90 percent response rate from the staff indicating a rising engagement score yearon-year. The long standing significance of the “Everything is possible” mantra for amrest as a company, emulates both the entrepreneurial spirit of the company’s founders and amrest’s ambitious growth plans which are sure to continue propelling the company forward in the coming years.

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CPO Network France Hyatt Paris

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Customer Experience Transformation: Financial Services The Bloomsbury Hotel London UK

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Business Analysis Conference Europe Victoria Park Plaza London UK

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Operational Excellence Energy Europe Kensington Close Hotel London UK

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12th Annual Maritime Reconnaissance & Surveillance

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European Autumn Gas Conference Grange St Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hotel London UK

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The newest Stevie® Awards program, the German Stevie Awards, is now accepting entries. Open to all organizations operating in Germany, there are no entry fees for entries submitted through the 30 September early-bird entry deadline. Award categories include: ◆ Management Awards ◆ New Product Awards ◆ Marketing Awards ◆ PR Awards ◆ Website Awards ◆ IT Awards ◆ Customer Service Awards and more…

Find complete entry details and the entry kit at www.StevieAwards.com/Deutschland

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