CzechInvest to promote Czech automotive industry in Australia

30 May. 2011 | CzechInvest | Experts in the automotive industry, representatives of universities and institutions will head for Melbourne at the beginning of july.

Presenting the Czech Republic as an advanced modern country with long-lasting experience in the automotive industry. This is the objective of the Czech and Australian Technology Days prepared by the CzechInvest agency in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Australian trade mission Austrade.

The Czech and Australian Technology Days will be held from 4 till 8 July 2011. The Czech representatives will take part in the international conference of the "Australian Automotive Week 2011," where they will be the only representatives of a European state. Besides the conference, the Czech delegation is preparing three workshops at the local universities, Deakin University, RMIT University and Swinburne University.

"The automotive industry in the Czech Republic ranks among the most advanced branches in the regions of Central and Eastern Europe. Thanks to the tradition and technical know-how, the Czech automotive sector managed to become an advance automotive base," says the Minister of Industry and Trade Martin Kocourek. "In 2010, the Czech Republic even managed to exceed the number of one million manufactured vehicles," adds Martin Kocourek.

"The modern history of the Czech automotive industry achieved much success in production and in automotive research and development. This is the aspect that distinguishes the Czech Republic from countries such as China, where production prevails," points out the CEO of the CzechInvest agency Miroslav Křížek and he adds: "At present we need to focus on increasing the attractiveness of technical fields, as early as at elementary schools."

The potential of the Czech industrial tradition is used by companies such as Porsche Engineering Services, Mercedes-Benz Technology, Ricardo, Swell, Valeo, Visteon, Aufeer Design, Bosch, Continetal, Honeywell, Siemens, TRW, ZF Automotive and many others. Czech technical universities and their development centres, such as the Josef Božek's Research Centre for Combustion Engines and Automotive Technology at the Czech Technical University in Prague or other departments at technical universities in Pilsen, Liberec, Pardubice, Brno, Zlín and Ostrava cooperate closely with the companies and provide them with necessary workforce and know-how.

There are over 850 companies active in the automotive industry in the Czech Republic with a turnover of EUR 32 billion. The automotive industry makes up over 20 % of the country's exports and over 260 thousand people have found their jobs in it. Therefore, the conditions are ideal in the Czech Republic for the realization of new investments, and not only in the automotive sector.

"The Czech Republic can offer a unique location in the centre of Europe to potential investors from Australia, a qualified workforce, prepared infrastructure, investment incentives and the possibility to use grants from European funds," explains CEO of the CzechInvest agency Miroslav Křížek. "The CzechInvest agency can make it significantly easier for them to enter the Czech Republic," closes Miroslav Křížek.

CzechInvest, the agency for support of enterprise and investments, is a state-subsidized organization subordinate to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic that increases the competitiveness of the Czech economy through support of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, business infrastructure, innovations and attracting foreign investments into production, strategic services and technological centres. It provides, among other things, free information and counselling services to foreign investors, it ensures investment incentives, industrial real estates and possible suppliers. In addition, it takes care of its clients even after they have realized their project. Through the CzechInvest agency, foreign investors can also apply for financial support from European funds. You can find more information at http://www.czechinvest.org/en.

The project of the Czech Technology Days supports international cooperation in the area of research, development, technologies and innovations. The biggest advantage of the project is building new contacts and establishing cooperation between research institutions, political representatives and private sector representatives. You can find more information athttp://www.czechtechnologydays.org/.