Archives: Relacja

On Friday, October 27, 2023, the Swisschamber along with other 11 bilateral Chambers associated with IGCC (International Group of Chambers of Commerce) organized the Post-Election Breakfast in Le Regina Hotel in Warsaw.  As our Chamber took over the chairmanship of the IGCC in the second half-year of 2023 we had the leading role in the organization of this meeting.

The event consisted of a networking breakfast followed by a discussion with two prominent speakers – dr Małgorzata Bonikowska (Centre for International Relations) and dr Sławomir Dudek (Institute of Public Finance). The discussion was moderated by Bogusław Chrabota, Editor-in-Chief of Rzeczpospolita.

The covered topics included political challenges for the new government, European Parliament elections scheduled for 2024, Poland’s GBP, recession and the country’s role in rebuilding Ukraine.

The attendance rate was very high and there were many questions at the end – i.a. about the transparency in public finances, renewable sources in energy sector and fiscal constraints of the new government.

This year’s 8th Polish-Swiss Innovation Day was dedicated to the topic “Sustainable buildings. Innovative methods and technologies to reduce emissions and environmental damage through the construction and operation of buildings”. The event took place on 4 October at Browary Warszawskie. It was attended by more than 120 people, including Chamber member companies, architects, representatives of universities and institutions promoting innovative solutions in construction.

Polish-Swiss Innovation Day was organised in cooperation with the Embassy of Switzerland in Poland. Honorary patronage of the conference was assumed by the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology and media patronage by Builder magazine.

The event was opened by H.E. Fabrice Filliez, Ambassador of Switzerland to Poland, and President of the Chamber Michał Stępień. Moderators of the conference were Ulrich Schwendimann, Managing Director of the Chamber, and Pablo Padrutt, Head of Economic, Financial and Scientific Affairs at the Embassy of Switzerland in Poland.

As in previous years, we had the pleasure of hosting experts from Poland and Switzerland. During the conference, we had the opportunity to listen to the keynotes of:

Dr. Peter Richner, Deputy Director of EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, ETH): How to Make the Building Stock Part of a Sustainable Energy System

Barbara Buser, baubüro in situ (winner of 2021 Global Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction): Breathing New Life into Building Components through Circular Construction

Prof. Ute Schneider, Partner at KCAP in Zurich and Professor of Urban Design at TU Vienna: The City of Tomorrow: Coexistence of City and Nature – A form of Urban Life to Aspire to?

Agnieszka Kalinowska-Sołtys, President of the Association of Polish Architects, SARP: How Architects Can Balance the Boundaries of the Planet with the Needs of the People

Alicja Kuczera, CEO of Polish Green Building Council PLGBC: Decarbonizing Polish Buildings – a Pathway to Climate Neutrality

The presentations were followed by a panel discussion Swiss and Polish Solutions for Sustainable Buildings with experts from Swiss companies, business partners of the event:

Forbo Flooring Poland, IGP Powder Coatings, Schindler Polska Sp. z o.o., SWISS KRONO, Zehnder Polska.

The discussion was moderated by Agnieszka Kalinowska-Sołtys, President of the Association of Polish Architects SARP.

We would like to thank all Partners of the event for their commitment and such fruitful cooperation!

We encourage you to view the photo gallery from the event and to visit psid2023.pl, where we will soon post a detailed report, recordings from the conference and interviews with the speakers.

On September 5-7, 2023, during the Economic Forum in Karpacz, the Swiss Pavilion appeared for the first time under the slogan “Swiss Point. Quality, Jobs & Innovation”. Our presence in Karpacz was possible thanks to the initiative and support of the Pavilion’s Strategic Partners: ABB Sp. z o. o., Nestlé Polska, Novartis Poland, Roche Polska and Sandoz Polska, as well as Trade Fair and Project Committee from Switzerland.

Our Partners and guests had 150 m2 of Pavilion space at their disposal, arranged in a space conducive to casual business conversations, but not only that!

 

The rich program of the Pavilion included speeches, discussion panels and bilateral talks at the government level, a Swiss cocktail with the opportunity to taste delicious dishes prepared on an ongoing basis by Kurt Scheller, an Alpine Night and, as it turned out, the extremely popular Roboclette, i.e. traditional Swiss Raclette cheese served by a programmed Swiss robot startup.

Everything was complemented by Nescafe coffee and delicacies from the vegan Garden Gourmet product line, served by Nestle, which tasted as wonderful as they looked.

   

Already on the first day, Swiss Point offered guests the opportunity to take part in the panel discussion “Quality, Jobs & Innovation. How to keep the investment pace by Swiss companies in Poland?”, during which the Strategic Partners of the Pavilion talked, among others, about the possibilities of using the potential of Swiss companies and about the conditions necessary to maintain the upward trend in R&D expenditure in Poland. The discussion was attended by: H.E. Ivo Germann, Head of Foreign Economic Affairs, SECO, Stanisław Tański, President of the Board, ABB Sp. z o. o., Artur Jankowski, Country Manager, Nestlé Polska, Monique Clua Braun, Country President and General Manager, Novartis Poland, Irma Veberič, General Manager, Roche Polska, Laurent Renaudie, Country President Sandoz in Poland. The discussion was moderated by Ulrich Schwendimann, Managing Director of the Polish-Swiss Chamber of Commerce.

We invite you to read the reports from the debate published in Rzeczpospolita and the cowzdrowiu.pl website (both in Polish):

Rzeczpospolita Cowzdrowiu

 

The next point on the agenda was a Swiss cocktail hosted by H.E. Fabrice Filliez, Ambassador of Switzerland to Poland and Michał Stępień, President of the Polish-Swiss Chamber of Commerce.

The cocktail began with a wine tasting prepared by the Swiss Ambassador. Guests had the opportunity to taste the best wines from the Ambassador’s hometown (Valais) and then go on a culinary journey around Switzerland, prepared by Kurt Scheller himself.

 

At the end, each visitor, thanks to our member company SSC Distribution, had the opportunity to taste delicious Swiss chocolate:

 

We are very pleased that the Pavilion program attracted such a large number of distinguished guests on the first day.

Already at 9:00 AM on the second day of the Forum, the Swiss Pavilion was operating at full speed. The program included Polish-Swiss bilateral talks with the participation of participants of the economic mission from Switzerland, led by Ambassador Ivo Germann, Head of Foreign Economic Relations at the Swiss Secretariat of State for Economic Affairs (SECO) and representatives of the Polish side: representatives of the Strategic Partners of the Pavilion and the Ministry of Development and Technology, headed by Minister Grzegorz Piechowiak, Secretary of State, Government Plenipotentiary for foreign investments.

 

After the talks, the Pavilion was officially opened to guests, and the Roboclette was launched. For almost twelve hours, the Swiss delicacy was served on the Pavilion’s terrace by a robot and tireless creators of this attraction from the Workshop4 startup.

 

At the same time, representatives of a Polish startup cooperating with Novartis Poland – MX Labs – started presenting their innovative solution.

Thanks to them, visitors could become familiar with Shen AI technology and measure basic health parameters solely based on the phone’s camera! More about Shen AI.

 

 

 

At 12:30, the 13th Polish-Swiss Forum for Dialogue for Health began inside the Pavilion under the slogan “Health is Wealth. The Importance of Quality Healthcare for a Country’s Economic Success”. The meeting was opened with speeches by: H.E. Fabrice Filliez, Swiss Ambassador to Poland, Dr. Lukas Engelberger, Health Director of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, President of the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Health Directors, and H.E. Ivo Germann, Head of Foreign Economic Relations at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO.

Then, two extremely inspiring substantive presentations were given by: Dr. Jérome Cosandey, director for French-speaking Switzerland and head of research on sustainable social policy, Avenir Suisse, and Prof. Monika Raulinajtys-Grzybek, Professor at the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH).

The meeting culminated in an interesting panel discussion with the participation of Maciej Miłkowski, Undersecretary of State from the Ministry of Health, prof. Gertruda Uścińska, President of the Health Insurance Institution (ZUS), Monique Clua Braun, Country President and General Manager, Novartis Poland, Irma Veberič, General Manager, Roche Polska and Laurent Renaudie Country President, Sandoz in Poland. The discussion was moderated by Marcin Piasecki, editor of Rzeczpospolita.

We invite you to read the reports prepared by Rzeczpospolita and Cowzdrowiu.pl website (both in Polish).

 

When the panel ended, the time for backstage talks began in the Pavilion space. The evening program included the Alpine Evening, i.e. “Alpine Night in Karpacz” – a joint initiative of the French, German and Swiss Chambers.

 

The third day was devoted entirely to business talks.

On behalf of the Embassy of Switzerland in Poland and the Polish-Swiss Chamber of Commerce, we would like to thank all Strategic Partners and guests of the Swiss Pavilion. A huge thank you also goes to Präsenz Schweiz and all the other partners who contributed to such a fantastic success.

We invite you to view the photo gallery from the Swiss Point Pavilion.

On September 12-14, 2023, for the 14th time we organized the Swiss Pavilion at the Energetab fair in Bielsko-Biała. The Pavilion is a joint initiative of Polish-Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Swiss Business Hub Central Europe within Swiss Embassy.

The Pavilion included stands of the following companies:

Astat
Axpo
Delta
Explosion Power
Helmar Jacek A. Dobrowiecki
Pfiffner
TAT ECO

We encourage you to read the e-brochure of the exhibitors! The fair office also interviewed the Managing Director of the Chamber, Ulrich Schwendimann (video fully in Polish).

Traditionally the companies EP&M and Wamtechnik joined the initiative. Coffee at the Pavilion was served, like every year, by Jura.

On the first day of the fair we organized Swiss-style apero for clients and business partners of Pavilion’s exhibitors during which Michel Prestinari-Skawiński served raclette.

We would like to thank all the exhibitors and invite you to the next edition that will take place on September 17-19, 2024!

Thank you all for attending the ‘Back to Business’ networking event! This was the first event of the business mixer series after the summer holidays, this time co-organised by as many as 10 chambers affiliated to the International Group of Chambers of Commerce.

The meeting was held on 13 September at the Warsaw School of Economics. In the first part, during the business mixer, participants were able to present their company in three networking rounds. This was followed by a networking cocktail, during which there was an opportunity to continue discussions.

Thanks to an excellent turnout – the event was attended by more than 100 hundred people – it was possible to make many valuable contacts.

We warmly invite you to the next meetings of the Business Mixer series.

On June 15, 2023, the XXV General Meeting of Members of the Swiss Chamber was held at the headquarters of Axpo Polska. The guest of honor of the event was H.E. Fabrice Filliez, Ambassador of Switzerland in Poland. We would like to thank this year’s host, Axpo Polska.

After the meeting was opened by the President of the Swiss Chamber, Michał Stępień, the activities of the Swiss Embassy in Poland were presented by the Ambassador, Fabrice Filliez, and the main areas of Axpo’s activity were presented by Paweł Wierzbicki, Head of Origination and Board Member Axpo Polska.
By way of a vote, the General Assembly approved the activity and financial reports for 2022 as well as the budget and activity plan for 2023.

The Assembly also granted aproval to the Management Board and approved two new Management Board members who were co-opted during the term of office: Monika Majcher, Schindler Polska and Laurent Renaudie, Sandoz Polska.

The event was accompanied by the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the existence of the Swiss Chamber. Thank you all for your presence and inspiring exchange of thoughts.

We cordially invite you to see  the photo report from the event and a short film summarizing the 25 years of the Chamber’s existence:

Video: 25 years of the Chamber

From May 30 to June 2, 2023, for the eleventh time, we had the pleasure of hosting you in the Swiss Pavilion during the ITM-Industry Europe (Mach-Tool) Fair! The Pavilion is a joint initiative of the Chamber and the Swiss Business Hub Central Europe.

We invite you to check out the e-brochure.

Companies exhibiting under the roof of the Pavilion were:

Astat

Baumer

Fracht FWO

Güdel

Oberon (distributor of Sylvac, Trimos i Wyler)

Schlatter

Schmiedewerk Stooss

Delicious coffee was served, as usual, by Jura.

On the second day of the fair, a Swiss-style apero was organized and raclette was served by Michel Prestinari-Skawiński.

We would like to thank everyone for participating and we invite you to see the photo report!

Thank you all for participating in the Economic Outlook 2023 conference. We are glad that you were with us once again to talk about economic forecasts for the coming year 2023.

Special thanks go to our Partners: Boyden Poland, Grant Thornton and mBank, as well as to the speakers of the conference, thanks to whom it was possible to organize this interesting and necessary event.

Traditionally, the conference began with a speech by Mr. Marcin Mazurek, Chief Economist at mBank, whose conclusions and forecasts were the starting point for the panel discussion. The following speakers spoke in the panel: Hanna Wojciechowska, CEO and Member of the Management Board of SCHILLER Poland, Andreas Maierhofer, CEO at T-Mobile Polska, Wojciech Trojanowski, Member of the Management Board at Strabag, Marcin Diakonowicz, Partner, Head of Warsaw Audit, Grant Thornton and Zbigniew Płaza, Managing Partner, Boyden Poland. Thanks to such a diversity of industries and companies, the discussion allowed to present a wide range of perspectives and challenges that business is currently facing. We would also like to thank Pablo Padrutt, Head of the Economic Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Poland, who perfectly summed up the entire discussion with a conclusion about the need to “think in scenarios” in the face of such an unpredictable geopolitical and economic situation.

We invite you to watch the photo report from the event. If you have any questions, please contact us: mb@swisschamber.pl

On Thursday, November 17, 2022, the second edition of the Nearshoring Partner Finder took place. The co-organizer, like at the premiere event, was DMS Schnee.

During this event three member companies of the Chamber from the IT industry had an opportunity to present themselves in front of potential Swiss clients. After the event, it was possible to schedule 1-to-1 meetings via dedicated platform. Each presentation was 20 minutes long.

Following companies participated:

ITELENCE, represented by Szymon Stadnik, CEO

LucidITy, represented by Paweł Jan Czochański, Deputy Software Engineering Team Manager

Sii, represented by Agnieszka Kościelecka, Regional Director & Switzerland Country Business Lead

The moderator of this event was Michał Muszyński, Operations Business Partner of the Chamber.

The presentations and recordings are available here.