Business Region Göteborg, BRG, in collaboration with the norwegian Consulate, the bank DnB NOR, norweigan-swedish chambre of commerce and Göteborg-Oslo Collaboration, invited to the Norweigan Day in Göteborg at the Swedish East Indiaman ship on Thursday, June 4th. The purpose was to bring to the attention the fact that norwegian companies dominate among the foreign owned companies in Göteborg Region- in total there are 350 Norwegian owned companies established in this region. Also, the forum was meant for discussing the relations between Norway and Sweden which are historical and traditional. The future perspectives were also lifted. Many exchanges occur between these countries, not to mention export and import where also Norway is on top among Sweden's import- and export markets.On the agenda, different topics were raised, such as the city planning of Göteborg, company interviews with Norwegian companies in the region, presentation by BRG of the service which is available for companies wishing to establish in the region and much more.
The Board chairman of BRG, Göran Johansson, introduced the dayMr Göran Johansson introduce this afternoon by talking about the collaboration between Göteborg and Oslo as well as the Göteborg-Oslo traditions. As the chairman of this collaboration, he is truly engaged and is committed to making the region even more attractive, both locally and worldwide. This is important in these days' competition among countries and regions around the world. Infrastructure is and important and prioritized matter when it comes to goods traffic. Within Göteborg-Oslo Region, you also want to cooperate when it comes to tourism, trade and industry and branches.
Mr Lars Ivarson from the City Planning Office of Göteborg presented the development of different parts of the city, primarily for Hisingen which is located on the other side of the bridge from downtown Göteborg. This area, Älvstranden, has had a strong development of housing, companies, universities etc and more work is under-going. The investments here started of 1996 with the help of Norwegian investors. At this time, politicians and the City Planning Office saw great potential in the area and today it is popular among residents, students and companies, mostly ICT-companies and for R&D. Initially it was difficult to find investors locally, however, this changed when the Norwegian investors saw the great potential in the area.
Ivarson continued talking about the plans for the city and how the city core needs and will be strengthen since there is great potential in the core city like no other european city really has. It will be strengthen and expanded with more housing and workplaces. On BRG's website, one can find a report on the growth strategies of Göteborg Region.
Mrs Petra Sedelius presented BRG
Petra Sedelius from Business Establishment Service at BRG presented BRG and the service available for companies in the region and for those wishing to establish here, primarily foreign owned companies. BRG works with strengthening and developing clusters, business development programs, set-ups, counseling and marketing, among other things. At Business Establishment Service the focus is new establishments and the main target group is foreign owned companies. It is a one-stop-shop where these companies can be assisted in everything that has to do with the establishment process such as company formation, legal advice, finding facilities, recruitment and much more. Despite the recession, there are companies coming to the region and the branches are ICT, pharmaceuticals and cleantech. For more information about BRG visit www.businessregiongoteborg.com
Mr Lars Ruda from Norwegian-Swedish chamber of Commerce informed about the organisation which has about 200 members. The chamber works for strengthening the relation between Norway and Sweden. They arrange meetings for members for them to network, also meetings about the trade obstacles that occur as well as trying to influence the improvement of the communication between the nations. There is also cutting-edge competence in the two countries and here the chamber wants to strengthen the collaboration. It also came to our knowledge that 30% of the Norwegian companies in Sweden are located in Göteborg Region.
Emisoft's C.E.O Rune Neteland The newly established Environment/IT- company from Norway, Emisoft, got the chance to introduce themselves. They started their operations in Sweden earlier this year in Göteborg much due to the presence of heavy industry in the region. They got in touch with BRG early on and that has helped them in their process. You can read about the company in the interview posted on this website or visit http://www.emisoft.com/. Lecor Stålteknik's C.E.O. Tennce Carlsson answered some questions on stage. They operate within the processing industry with their steel construction. Many of their assignments are in Norway but also in Göteborg Region of course. Mr Tennce Carlsson feels there are complicated trade obstacles between the countries. Smaller obstacles such as different currencies, accounting systems can also be a bit problematic. Want to know more about Lecor? Visit http://www.lecor.se/. Bus 4 u tells about convenient buses
Next comanpy on stage is the newly established bus company Bus 4 u which operates between Göteborg and Oslo primarily. The buses are very comfortable with only 35 seats per bus. There are only 8 of these unique buses in Sweden. This ride takes only 3,5 hours. You can read more on http://bus4you.se/.
Mr Andres Portillo from Tandberg tells about Tandberg's activities which is to develop video conference systems. This includes high technology, Internet as well as easy visual communication. The ambition is to constantly improve and make it easier. For more info about Tandberg, visit http://www.tandberg.com/
DnB Nor and Mrs Marie Osberg was on next. This bank is the biggest one in Norway and is well-established in Sweden. In Göteborg, the bank has operated for about a year. In Sweden, it has 600 employees and the target groups are Swedish and Norwegian companies. Visit the website for more information https://www.dnbnor.se/
Choice Hotels was the last company up on stage. This large hotel chain has expansion plans for Göteborg, such as a 5-star hotel. The event finished off with a nice buffé and mingle and a speech by Mr Jan Andréasson from the Norwegian Consulate in Göteborg.For more pictures, click here.
Many thanks to all participants at this year's Norwegian Day!
