Uncle Sam's rewards

For the third year in a row, the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland (AmCham) handed out awards to outstanding American companies doing business in Poland. Prizes were awarded in four categories: entrepreneur of the year, excellence in innovation, investor of the year and the special category of the Edgar Fulton Jr. award for outstanding long-term investor.

In the category of entrepreneur of the year, AmCham awarded Travel Express, the business-travel agency. Lockheed Martin was awarded for the excellence in innovation and the spirits producer and distributor Central European Distribution Corporation (CEDC), was given the investor of the year award.

In the outstanding long-term investor category the winner was Enterprise Investors, a private-equity management giant in Central and Eastern Europe. The firm was awarded for "15 years of successful investment in Poland, while supporting economic transformation and entrepreneurship, developing the Polish stock market and corporate governance standards," the group said.

According to AmCham officials, all of the awarded companies "have demonstrated significant commitment to the Polish market with considerable investment and job creation. They have also been instrumental in the economic development of Poland by virtue of their transfer of technology and know-how."

Between 1991 and 2004, US companies have invested $10.16 (zł.32.1) billion in Poland, which makes the US Poland's third-largest foreign investor, surpassed only by the Netherlands and France.

"The economic growth of both countries (Poland and the US), is surely an ally in the cooperation between them." Chairman of the AmCham Board of Directors, Roman Rewald says. "The level of American investment in Poland is rising, and thus I expect an increase in Polish exports to the US in the nearest future. Poles are getting better in know-how, also thanks to American investors, so the cooperation can only be mutually beneficial."