Sharing the knowledge
What do Polish areas such as Łódź and Upper Silesia have in common with Britain's West Midlands?
"In our characters we share an honesty, an integrity and a reliability. In terms of production we both have a fantastic industrial heritage, a wide skills base and an outward looking base," said Steve Swinden, the chairman of the Midlands World Trade Forum, an organization that promotes links and shares experience between businesses.
To strengthen these links, a high-powered team of British executives and industry figures touched down in Warsaw last week to meet with their Polish counterparts.
The group-hosted by the Polish Chamber of Commerce-came from the West Midlands region in the heart of the UK, which received significant EU funding for a number of years.
Their aim was to develop links between the two groups and share the knowledge the Brits had acquired in how to apply for and utilize structural funds. "We have a set of skills that are very useful. With EU structural funds we have organized our city centers and our rural areas," said the executive director of the Confederation of West Midlands Chambers of Commerce, Richard Bindless.
"In 2006 that money will not be spent in the West Midlands, it will be spent in Poland. We feel we can help Polish businesses utilize these structural funds effectively."
Bindless said the Midlands could also offer advise on the 10 sectors it has identified as its strengths. "When we come to Poland some of those same clusters are being developed here, for instance food processing. Now, Poland is one of the bread baskets of Europe. Environmental technology and medical equipment, manufacturing are other areas where we can help."
"In our characters we share an honesty, an integrity and a reliability. In terms of production we both have a fantastic industrial heritage, a wide skills base and an outward looking base," said Steve Swinden, the chairman of the Midlands World Trade Forum, an organization that promotes links and shares experience between businesses.
To strengthen these links, a high-powered team of British executives and industry figures touched down in Warsaw last week to meet with their Polish counterparts.
The group-hosted by the Polish Chamber of Commerce-came from the West Midlands region in the heart of the UK, which received significant EU funding for a number of years.
Their aim was to develop links between the two groups and share the knowledge the Brits had acquired in how to apply for and utilize structural funds. "We have a set of skills that are very useful. With EU structural funds we have organized our city centers and our rural areas," said the executive director of the Confederation of West Midlands Chambers of Commerce, Richard Bindless.
"In 2006 that money will not be spent in the West Midlands, it will be spent in Poland. We feel we can help Polish businesses utilize these structural funds effectively."
Bindless said the Midlands could also offer advise on the 10 sectors it has identified as its strengths. "When we come to Poland some of those same clusters are being developed here, for instance food processing. Now, Poland is one of the bread baskets of Europe. Environmental technology and medical equipment, manufacturing are other areas where we can help."
