Investment Week: Investor and Business Property of the Year 2013

20 Jun. 2014 | CzechInvest, MPO ČR, AFI | Awards presented to the most significant Investors and Business Properties of last year.

The fourteenth annual Investor and Business Property of the Year awards ceremony took place this evening at Žofín Palace in Prague under the auspices of Minister of Industry and Trade Jan Mládek. Organised by CzechInvest and the Association for Foreign Investment, the competition recognised the most beneficial investment projects and industrial projects of 2013 in the Czech Republic.

An expert jury based its evaluation of competing projects not only on the volume of investment, but also on the number of new created jobs and the benefit for the given region. The investors that were the most significant for the Czech Republic in 2013 were selected in three categories. First place in the manufacturing category was awarded to LEGO Production, s.r.o., which will create up to 600 new jobs in the Kladno district. The winner of the Research and Development category is Honeywell, spol. s r.o., which is expanding its research and development centre in Brno. Y Soft Corporation, a.s. took the top honours in the IT and Shared Services category for its YSoft SafeQ product aimed at reducing the costs of printing materials in companies.

"It is pleasing that investors' interest in the Czech Republic is growing. This year we could thus select from truly interesting projects. Besides important jobs, the participating companies are bringing prestige to the Czech Republic, as these investors include names known around the world," says Minister of Industry and Trade Jan Mládek.

The Business Property of the Year awards were also presented in three categories. Panattoni Park Stříbro was named the Industrial Zone of the Year. Technologický Park Brno, a.s., which is located adjacent to the Brno University of Technology campus, took the top prize in the category Property of the Year for Technology Centres and Services. The Brownfield of the Year award went to Enterprise Zone Šternberk, which was established on the site of former barracks in the city of Šternberk in the Olomouc region.

"A sufficiently prepared, equipped and available zone is one of the most important factors in the decision-making process of the absolute majority of investors. Therefore, it is important to make the public aware of industrial zones and properties that are actively preparing for the entry of investors and want to offer them the best facilities. The recognition given to brownfields is also important, as unused sites can be transformed into living places where firms put down roots," says Ondřej Votruba, acting CEO of CzechInvest.

Like last year, this year's edition of the event featured two special awards presented by the Association for Foreign Investment (AFI). Mann + Hummel Service s.r.o. received the AFI Prize for Significant Achievement in the Field of Investments and ON SEMICONDUCTOR CZECH REPUBLIC, s.r.o. was honoured with the AFI Prize for Long-Term Benefit to the Investment Environment of the Czech Republic.

"Both of these award winners conduct production, strategic and development activities in the Czech Republic. Initiating development activities outside of the home country is a very strategic decision that in most cases is preceded by production activities and familiarisation with the local environment. Furthermore, both companies operate in regions with high unemployment. Mann + Hummel of Germany evidently found the ideal environment for its activities in Vysočina and is perceived very positively there; the American company ON Semiconductor took over the former TESLA manufacturing complex in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm years ago and has created more than 1,000 jobs there," says Kamil Blažek, chairman of the AFI's Steering Committee.

The committee that selected the winners was composed of representatives of CzechInvest, the AFI, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance. Important factors in choosing the winning investors were the number of promised jobs to be created, investment volume and the unemployment rate in the given region. The jury chose the best business properties from the CzechInvest database of properties. The decisive criteria for victory in the Business Property of the Year competition were the amount invested in construction, the number of new jobs, social benefit of the project, enhancement of the given region's attractiveness and technological equipment. The AFI prizes were focused on the nationwide benefit provided by the evaluated firms.

The awards ceremony was hosted by Czech Television editor Marcela Augustová. The main partner of the competition was the bank ČSOB and the AFIs' long-term partners - Erste Corporate Banking and real-estate company CPI Group - and Grafton Recruitment. The event was also supported by AC&C Public Relations and Zátiší Group. Media support for the event was provided by the weekly Ekonom, Hospodářské noviny, the IHNED.cz web portal, magazines Komora.cz and Trade News, and Rádio ZET.

The announcement of the results of the Investor and Business Property of the Year 2013 competition was newly part of Investment Week, which took place for the first time this year. Investment Week is organised by CzechInvest.