The engineered city
Part of the tri-city area on the Baltic coast, Gdynia lies far north from the hustle and bustle of Warsaw. Naturally, ambitions to dethrone Poland's capital as a financial and business center would be, to put it mildly, unrealistic. The local authorities are realistic, however, and regard their role as one of a regional leader, a truly European city and, most importantly, a place that creates a welcome environment for any size and type of business activity. The WBJ spoke to the president of Gdynia and local CEOs to learn more on how to rule and prosper in the local market.
All part of the master plan
"We have been blessed with several advantages," admits Gdynia's president Wojciech Szczurek, "strategic location on the seashore being, nowadays, probably not the most important."
Gdynia first appeared on engineers' sketches, as it was designed in the early 20th century. That early city outline shows an industrial and business center-and the vision of its founders has outlived the communist era almost unscathed.
One important result of the relatively recent (by European standards) town planning that created modern Gdynia is the excellent infrastructure. Another is the 100 ha City Center Development Zone, which is strategically located between the main commercial area and the docks-and still has lots for sale.
Yet these two factors alone are not enough to create the perfect investor-friendly environment. Pumping large sums into a new investment is a decision made after serious consideration. For this decision local taxes are commonly regarded as a key factor. This is not the case anymore, explains Szczurek, who says: "In the end, local taxes are a minimal share of total investment cost."
For companies deciding to bind their fate to the city, living standards of their future employees seem to be a higher priority though. And it would seem that local facilities in Gdynia are up to the challenge. "Gdynia is not offering everything cheaper-but better," says Szczurek.
City officials believe the result of this is that young professionals would rather stay in the city than travel to the capital or abroad in search of a better life. Growth indicators speak for themselves-the city's population has grown by 1,500 in the last three years, while neighboring Gdansk lost 1,400 citizens in the same period.
Promote, provide, project
"Every level of public administration needs to be free of barriers" is the motto of Gdynian officials. The problem of red tape that all too often entangles businesspeople is being tackled at the city hall. Systems have been designed to help potential investors, not discourage them. The city has also avoided the political instability so common in Poland. Szczurek, who has been involved in the city council since 1990, together with his late predecessor, Franciszka Cegielska, created a unified vision of how Gdynia should be run. This provided for a healthy atmosphere for business to grow, ensuring that no local laws would be subject to overnight change. Furthermore, local government officials are committed to undertake various pro-business initiatives.
The recent 4th International Investment Forum, held earlier this month, and an integrated system of information for investors are further examples of how relations with the business community are prioritized in the city. Reinforcing this commitment, the president says: "Our economic unit in the council is almost entirely dedicated to helping and supporting investors."
Local perspective
Warsaw-born Włodzimierz Kiciński, who is chairman of the board at Nordea Bank Polska, moved to Gdynia with no regrets. He is now observing a growing trend among young people to leave Warsaw for smaller cities. "The capital has sort of a dense, overcrowded atmosphere. We have employees who studied in the tri-city area, worked in Warsaw for a couple of years and are now coming home," says Kiciński.
His bank, which merged more than 12 months ago with the Łódź-based LG Petrobank, is probably the biggest foreign contributor to the local economy. As part of the decision process to site Nordea's new headquarters, the bank asked both cities to outline how they would cooperate. Gdynia's president convinced them with a more precise business plan and prospects of financial cooperation, in particular regarding the servicing of city hall accounts.
"I might say the city was a cofounder of our bank," says Kiciński. He also stresses the significance of the regional market: "We did not want to be another anonymous bank in the capital."
The efforts of the city hall are much appreciated among Polish companies too. According to Elżbieta Borkowska, spokesperson for Hossa Investment Group, a large developer, her company did not experience any delays when applying for construction permissions. "Gdynia's magistrate makes it as easy as possible," she says, admitting that lower wages and land prices are also among the positive factors of operating there.
Hossa has invested about $7 million in construction and land purchase and has an excellent workforce. "The great majority of our staff, whether blue collars or well-educated specialists and managers, come from the tri-city area," says Borkowska with satisfaction.
Port city forever
Still, local authorities admit they are not even halfway along the slippery road to winning the trust of businesses. The Year 2000 survey conducted for the city hall revealed that 68 percent of entrepreneurs consider prices of land within the city "too high". And, in spite of some structural improvements, 42.6 percent claim that procedures for obtaining necessary permissions are long, difficult and "discouraging."
"We have a constant feeling of dissatisfaction about our actions-we need to do more," admits Szczurek.
Figures show the Pomorskie voivoidship managed to attract just 5.4 percent of all Polish foreign investment, ranking it sixth in terms of regional investment centers. Both foreign and domestic investments are still very dependent on the proximity of Gdynia's Port. With the exception of Nordea Bank, no large size companies have decided to invest directly within the city. Despite this, there is evidence that the cooperative spirit is reaping some rewards. And the opinion of Włodzimierz Kiciński is probaby the bottom line: "Being a Warsaw citizen by birth and education, I am confident in saying it is definitely worth investing here."
All part of the master plan
"We have been blessed with several advantages," admits Gdynia's president Wojciech Szczurek, "strategic location on the seashore being, nowadays, probably not the most important."
Gdynia first appeared on engineers' sketches, as it was designed in the early 20th century. That early city outline shows an industrial and business center-and the vision of its founders has outlived the communist era almost unscathed.
One important result of the relatively recent (by European standards) town planning that created modern Gdynia is the excellent infrastructure. Another is the 100 ha City Center Development Zone, which is strategically located between the main commercial area and the docks-and still has lots for sale.
Yet these two factors alone are not enough to create the perfect investor-friendly environment. Pumping large sums into a new investment is a decision made after serious consideration. For this decision local taxes are commonly regarded as a key factor. This is not the case anymore, explains Szczurek, who says: "In the end, local taxes are a minimal share of total investment cost."
For companies deciding to bind their fate to the city, living standards of their future employees seem to be a higher priority though. And it would seem that local facilities in Gdynia are up to the challenge. "Gdynia is not offering everything cheaper-but better," says Szczurek.
City officials believe the result of this is that young professionals would rather stay in the city than travel to the capital or abroad in search of a better life. Growth indicators speak for themselves-the city's population has grown by 1,500 in the last three years, while neighboring Gdansk lost 1,400 citizens in the same period.
Promote, provide, project
"Every level of public administration needs to be free of barriers" is the motto of Gdynian officials. The problem of red tape that all too often entangles businesspeople is being tackled at the city hall. Systems have been designed to help potential investors, not discourage them. The city has also avoided the political instability so common in Poland. Szczurek, who has been involved in the city council since 1990, together with his late predecessor, Franciszka Cegielska, created a unified vision of how Gdynia should be run. This provided for a healthy atmosphere for business to grow, ensuring that no local laws would be subject to overnight change. Furthermore, local government officials are committed to undertake various pro-business initiatives.
The recent 4th International Investment Forum, held earlier this month, and an integrated system of information for investors are further examples of how relations with the business community are prioritized in the city. Reinforcing this commitment, the president says: "Our economic unit in the council is almost entirely dedicated to helping and supporting investors."
Local perspective
Warsaw-born Włodzimierz Kiciński, who is chairman of the board at Nordea Bank Polska, moved to Gdynia with no regrets. He is now observing a growing trend among young people to leave Warsaw for smaller cities. "The capital has sort of a dense, overcrowded atmosphere. We have employees who studied in the tri-city area, worked in Warsaw for a couple of years and are now coming home," says Kiciński.
His bank, which merged more than 12 months ago with the Łódź-based LG Petrobank, is probably the biggest foreign contributor to the local economy. As part of the decision process to site Nordea's new headquarters, the bank asked both cities to outline how they would cooperate. Gdynia's president convinced them with a more precise business plan and prospects of financial cooperation, in particular regarding the servicing of city hall accounts.
"I might say the city was a cofounder of our bank," says Kiciński. He also stresses the significance of the regional market: "We did not want to be another anonymous bank in the capital."
The efforts of the city hall are much appreciated among Polish companies too. According to Elżbieta Borkowska, spokesperson for Hossa Investment Group, a large developer, her company did not experience any delays when applying for construction permissions. "Gdynia's magistrate makes it as easy as possible," she says, admitting that lower wages and land prices are also among the positive factors of operating there.
Hossa has invested about $7 million in construction and land purchase and has an excellent workforce. "The great majority of our staff, whether blue collars or well-educated specialists and managers, come from the tri-city area," says Borkowska with satisfaction.
Port city forever
Still, local authorities admit they are not even halfway along the slippery road to winning the trust of businesses. The Year 2000 survey conducted for the city hall revealed that 68 percent of entrepreneurs consider prices of land within the city "too high". And, in spite of some structural improvements, 42.6 percent claim that procedures for obtaining necessary permissions are long, difficult and "discouraging."
"We have a constant feeling of dissatisfaction about our actions-we need to do more," admits Szczurek.
Figures show the Pomorskie voivoidship managed to attract just 5.4 percent of all Polish foreign investment, ranking it sixth in terms of regional investment centers. Both foreign and domestic investments are still very dependent on the proximity of Gdynia's Port. With the exception of Nordea Bank, no large size companies have decided to invest directly within the city. Despite this, there is evidence that the cooperative spirit is reaping some rewards. And the opinion of Włodzimierz Kiciński is probaby the bottom line: "Being a Warsaw citizen by birth and education, I am confident in saying it is definitely worth investing here."
