Frost & Sullivan on Thursday presented over 30 awards to the industrial automation & electronics, energy & power supply systems and environment & building technologies sectors at their 2006 Industrial Excellence Awards Banquet in London.
The award recognized industry leaders for their leadership, innovation and excellence in product development and technology, outstanding strategy leadership in growth, competitiveness, business development, product line and sales.
In his welcoming speech, Iain Jawad, Frost & Sullivan's Practice Director for Automation & Electronics, gave an overview of the Eastern European market. The Eastern European market will continue to be an important manufacturing base in Europe, said Jawad. But, unlike other emerging markets such China, European production tends not to be driven by domestic demand. On an industry-by-industry basis, though, the European market can realize greater opportunities due to its shear size.
In his keynote speech, ‘Investing in Central Europe: Why Now,’ Matthew Hill, leading coach, consultant and intercultural trainer for multi-national businesses at Frost & Sullivan, noted, “the region offers multiple benefits ranging from an educated population fluent in major languages such as English, German and French, good tax incentives and, production costs that are often 40 percent lower than in the west to easy geographical access to numerous economically promising markets together with a prospective 130 million person market.”
Hill cautioned new companies that want to enter the Central Europe region, warning them of the perils of the ‘invisible culture’ of the area, and stressing that entrants must do their homework and be prepared for the challenges ahead.
“Building trust, adapting your message to regional peculiarities, ensuring a smooth cultural translation from the western to the central and eastern worlds, and making the most of experienced personnel familiar with change will be essential in capitalizing on growth opportunities in Central Europe,” Hill said.
Award recipients included Ceres Power, Kvaerner Power, MGE UPS Systems, Honeywell Security Deutschland, Novar GmbH, MGE UPS Systems, IST International Security Technology Oy, Sagem Défense Sécurité, ESAB, SEW Eurodrive GmbH & Co KG, Emerson Network Power, Aggreko and Grundfos.
