This has been good year for Szczecin

When summarising 2013, it can definitely be said that Szczecin has many things to be proud of. The city has bolstered its position of an important BPO centre in Poland, and extending the economic zones with areas in Szczecin has spurred the city’s further development. Activities aimed at leveraging new companies and investments have borne fruit – several important foreign companies have chosen Szczecin as the location for their offices. The never-ceasing development of the city can be seen everywhere, even while casually strolling along the streets. Office buildings create a favourable environment for business, and numerous new investments are improving the quality of lives of the city’s residents.

We have expanded our Special Economic Zone
In August 2013, the Polish Council of Ministers decided to expand the Kostrzyn-Słubice and Mielec Special Economic Zones with new areas in Szczecin, on Stołczyńska Street and on Ostrów Brdowski. This amounted, in total, to 58 hectares of land and around two thousand new jobs. Last year created entirely new opportunities for us. The expansion of these zones will give the green light to new investments of, e.g. Teleyard, which will manufacture large steel constructions in Skolwin – a municipal neighbourhood of Szczecin. On the other hand, Bilfinger Crist Offshore, a company manufacturing bases for offshore wind farms, has already announced its investment on Ostrów Brdowski. Following the decision of the Council of Ministers, the total area of the land forming the special economic zone in Szczecin will comprise over 130 ha.

We have gained new office space
The Business Process Outsourcing sector is, beside research and development, a strategic sector for the city. Knowing that the development of modern services in the city and the creation of new jobs in this sector is facilitated by attracting BPO companies, the city has decided to create for them an appropriate business environment and HR base. For quite a while now, we have been observing a dynamic increase in modern office space in Szczecin. In 2013, the construction of three large office buildings has been finished. These were the Piastów Office Center with a total area of 8,500 m² and 7,000 m² of office space, the Baltic Business Park – 11,100 m² and 9,868 m², and also the Lastadia Office Center – 11,500 m² and 10,000 m². The adopted BPO Investment Strategy does not merely boil down to the development of an office infrastructure. It also includes activities for the support of innovative entrepreneurship, business development and the transfer and commercialisation of new technologies. Last year also saw a substantial intensification of cooperation between universities and the municipal authorities in respect of making the educational resource more appealing to young people, bolstering the city’s role as a strong academic centre, tightening the relationship between science and business, and adjusting majors and specialisations to the needs of a changing labour market. The first fruit of such activities was the organisation of joint conferences, such as Business_University_Management, held in April.

We have welcomed new companies
Szczecin’s continuous development, creating favourable investment conditions, and a positive atmosphere for entrepreneurs, all contributed to the selection of Szczecin as a place to make investments, by such companies as:

Genpact Limited – operating in the business services & technology solutions industry – which announced, in the first half of 2013, the official launch of their branch in Szczecin. The company has employed 70 people already, and is planning to increase this number to 250 within the next several months.

Mobica Limited Sp. z o.o. – a software developer for mobile devices – in the first half of 2013 opened its branch in Szczecin, and is planning to employ about 150 people.

Dansk Supermarked – the owner of the well-known Netto, Bilka, Føtex, and Salling retail chains – in the first half of 2013 established its accounting and settlement centre in Szczecin, hiring about 90 people.

There is also the Szczecin branch of Metro Services (registered office in Germany) providing financial and accounting services for Metro, Makro Cash & Carry, and Real, which is currently employing ca. 50 people and has announced an increase in this number to around 250 by 2014.

Supporting the development of local entrepreneurship and the economic development of the city has made it possible to intensify ongoing activities and start new projects aimed at the creation of new jobs in the developing sectors of modern services and industry. This can be illustrated with the example of:

KK Electronic Polska Sp. z o.o., which has successfully carried out the construction of an energy infrastructure, including a load-testing station for power switchgears manufactured in the company’s plant on Goleniowska Street. The cost of the investment has amounted to PLN 12 million, and the test station was opened in April 2013. Currently the company employs 300 people. KK Electronic Polska plans to increase the employment level by 150 people in two years’ time.

North-West Logistic Park Sp. z o.o. – the company implementing Szczecin’s first A-class logistics park with a leasable area of 64,000 m2. This investment is aimed at companies from the whole of Europe. Cushman & Wakefield Polska has been appointed the park manager. The A Hall, comprising the first stage of the investment implemented by North-West Logistic Park Sp. z o.o., was commissioned in June 2013. The North-West Logistic Park complex is expected to feature three modern halls for logistics, warehousing and production. All facilities will be furnished with state-of-the-art technological solutions and will also provide the option of high storage. The A Hall employs now 110 people.

We have experienced some unforgettable moments…
…at numerous events organised this year in the city. The largest was The Tall Ships Races final, that on 3-6 August attracted over 100 of the largest and most beautiful vessels in the world. Szczecin was visited by over 2.5 million people, who came to admire the most impressive sailing ships in the world and have fun with the stars of the Polish and the world’s music scene, such as Nelly Furtado and Ewa Farna. In the unanimous opinion of sailors, tourists, residents and journalists, Szczecin coped with this task superbly. The area on Łasztownia Island and the Chrobry Embankment is perfect for such events and excellently highlights the beauty of sailing ships. The city itself grew even more beautiful, and the organiser – richer with the experience from the event that took place six years ago – displayed impeccable organisational skills. If you add to this an exquisite culinary and entertainment package, the TSR 2013 Final can be regarded as one of the largest and the best of this year’s open-air events in Poland.