Plzen region has attracted over a billion crowns of investments in research and advanced services over the past five years

5 Feb. 2008 | CzechInvest | In the past five years, the Plzen region has attracted investments totalling more than CZK 1 billion in research and development and advanced services. The latest such investment was undertaken by the purely Czech company Marbes consulting s.r.o., which in Plzen will develop specialised software for managing the operation of companies.

“We will employ roughly twenty programmers, and investments in establishing the centre and in its operation will reach twelve million crowns in the first two years,” says Petr Vybíral, COO of Marbes consulting s.r.o.

“The Plzen region has become increasingly popular among companies engaged in research and development or sophisticated services,” explains Alexandra Rudyšarová, acting CEO of CzechInvest. “CzechInvest has taken part in 17 projects involving technology centres and shared services centres in the Plzen region, thus investments in science and/or advanced services.”

Individual companies are investing CZK 1.142 billion in such centres and will eventually employ 2,415 people. “More projects and jobs will arise thanks to related investments, so the number of such investments in the Plzen region will actually be even higher,” Rudyšarová adds. “The region enjoys the benefit of very effective cooperation between the University of West Bohemia and local companies. Firms often offer practical experience and part-time jobs to students as early as in their freshman year and are developing cooperation in the area of research and development.”

Marbes consulting is planning to address new talents at the university. The company has operated in Plzen since its establishment in 1997. “The main reason that we decided to establish a technology centre is to develop our own product – an information system that will cover the area of sales of goods and services,” explains Petr Vybíral. In the initial years of its existence, Marbes consulting focused primarily on software intended particularly for the state administration, later dedicating itself to private companies. “Our typical customers are city halls, regional offices and third-degree municipalities, though of course we also work for commercial enterprises. The technology centre will enable us to accelerate the development of software, which we fine tune for each client precisely according to their particular needs,” adds Vybíral.

“We cooperated with CzechInvest on the establishment of the development centre. In particular, we applied for registration in the Framework Programme for Support of Technology Centres and Centres of Business Support Services,” Vybíral continues. “This programme has the purpose of supporting industrial research and development, design and services. So far, it has been utilised by 44 Czech companies, which thus comprise the largest group of applicants,”says Alexandra Rudyšarová.

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MORE ABOUT MARBES CONSULTING:

Marbes consulting s.r.o. was established in 1997 and has since worked particularly on preparing, developing and implementing information systems for the city of Plzen. It gradually built up a team of consultants and programmers who develop and implement the company’s own comprehensive information system, PROXIO, which is based on standard information systems (Microsoft Dynamics NAV, SAP), and a range of proprietary specialised applications developed for the specific environment of the local administration (PROXIO, AGENDIO, Comprehensive Database, ePUSA portal, KEVIS record system, and others). Marbes consulting later expanded its activities to include the commercial sector and has worked for COPY GENERAL s.r.o. and KERAMIKU SOUKUP a.s., to name just two of the company’s customers. Marbes consulting’s turnover in 2006 amounted to CZK 53.6 million.