Uneak White's Personal Brand Exploration Presentation
NL Chamber Newsletter 2013 Q3
1. newsletter
SEPTEMBER 2013
c/o Netherlands Embassy
Leninova 69-71
1000 Skopje
Republic of Macedonia
e: info@nlchamber.org.mk
w: www.nlchamber.org.mk
fb.com/nlchamber
twitter.com/nlchamber
linkedin.com/../nl-chamber
youtube.com/user/nlchamber
NL Chamber was established
in January 2012 as official
Dutch-Macedonian Chamber of
Commerce by 50 Macedonian
companies, according to the
Macedo ian Law on Chambers of
n
Commerce.
One third of these companies is
partly or fully Dutch owned.
Objective of NL Chamber is to
promote and support successful
business relations between Dutch
and Macedonian companies.
events
Deputy PM Stavreski meeting Dutch business community
Dutch Business Meeting Stip
Fashion Fair Modefabriek Amsterdam
Visiting clients with Vima Fashion
projects
Netherlands Embassy: Customs and business climate
network
Initiatives for bilateral chambers in Albania and Bulgaria
members
Dutch Natuurgevelsteen exploring Macedonian quarries
Dutch company bought Holmak Bitola
Feydom sofas and lounge suites for the Dutch market
service
Market Scan
statistics
Internet usage
short
Webshopping/Strawberries/Toplocations/Agenda/Fairs
click to read earlier editions!
online reading
No. 2: issuu.com/.../nlchamber2013q2
No. 1: issuu.com/.../nlchamber2013q1
Sponsors of
Foundation NL Chamber:
pdf download
bit.ly/19xMcn1
bit.ly/14yZLMB
photo: NL Chamber
Dutch-Macedonian
Chamber of Commerce
3
2. newsletter no. 3 / September 2013
events
Deputy PM Stavreski meeting Dutch business community
A delegation of the Macedonian government will meet with the Dutch business community at the Chamber of Commerce in Rotterdam and Greenport in Venlo.
opportunities and support
Deputy Prime Minister Zoran
Stavreski will address the
Dutch business community
on doing business in Macedonia and governmental support
to
foreign investors. Minister
of Foreign Investments Vele
S
amak will highlight the business opportunities and Invest
Macedonia director Visar Fida
will outline the services of the
investment agency.
HaVeP and Holmak
Finally, the Dutch companies
Van Puijenbroek Textiel and
Holmak HeatX BV will share
their xperiences. Van Puijen
e
broek Textiel, also known as
HaVeP and VPTex, recently
finished the contruction of a
“quick response” production
facility for workwear in Mace
donia. Holmak HeatX owns a
factory in Bitola (see page 10).
Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia
THE HAGUE
DOING BUSINESS IN MACEDONIA
Monday, 25 November 2013
Kamer van Koophandel Rotterdam
Blaak 40, 3011 TA Rotterdam
14h30 Registration
15h00 Welcome and Introduction
- representative of the Chamber of Commerce
- representative of the Dutch government
- Ambassador of Macedonia, Mr Nikola Dimitrov
15h15 Doing business in Macedonia
- Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Zoran Stavreski
- Minister of Foreign Investments, Mr Vele Samak
- Director Invest Macedonia, Mr Visar Fida
16h00 Dutch experiences in Macedonia
- Van Puijenbroek Textiel, Mr Winfried Rooswinkel
- Holmak HeatX, Mr Mark Lammers
16h30 Discussion, questions & answers
17h00 Meet & Greet, Macedonian wine
18h30 End
please confirm your attendance no later than 20 November:
vedat.rushid@investinmacedonia.com
supported by:
free registration
Participation in the event is
free of charge, but registration
is highly appreciated: please
confirm your attendance no
later than 20 November by
email to Mr Vedat Rushid, Economic Promoter of Macedonia
in the Netherlands:
vedat.rushid@
investinmacedonia.com
On Tuesday 26 November, the
delegation will focus on agricultural opportunities at a forum at Greenport Venlo.
Promotional organization for the
Top Sector Horticulture
www.dutchgamesassociation.nl
www.topsectortu.nl
Assocation Textile Industry
www.modint.nl
Federation Dutch Food Industry
www.fnli.nl
Agriculture branch organization
www.lto.nl
Association metal industry
www.metaalunie.nl
photo: Wikifrits
The Embassy of Macedonia in
the Netherlands and Invest
Macedonia organize a forum
on doing business in Macedonia on Monday 25 November
at the Chamber of Commerce
in Rotterdam.
2
3. newsletter no. 3 / September 2013
events
Dutch Business Meeting Stip
Dutch and Macedonian businessmen gathered in Stip to get to know eachother and to
exchange ideas and experience on doing business in Macedonia.
Karma Bella
Co-owner and managing director Arno Scheid ann of arma
m
K
Bella BV once stated: “Almost
every month I come to Macedonia for a ouple of days. We
c
discuss current business at our
office in Stip, I visit a few subcontractors and that is it.” Karma Bella is a Dutch garment
production service provider,
mana ing outsourced producg
tion of mainly ladies’ wear
through its subsidiary in Stip.
no clue
Scheid ann: “I know exactly
m
what is going on in the Mace
donian textile industry, but I
have no clue what Macedonia
has to offer out of my sector
- let alone which other Dutch
companies are active here.”
Holmak HeatX Managing Director Mark Lammers posting on LinkedIn
Similar statements are valid for
all these frequent visitors, reason why NL Chamber grabbed
the chance to introduce them
to eachother and our resident
members.
business gathering
right after landing
On 23 September 2013, sixteen businessmen gathered
at the office of Karma Bella
in Stip, after which they had
lunch at restaurant Mal Odmor.
It was Monday, in Macedonia a rather unsual day for
u
such an event, but it very well
suited the Dutch sense of always eing practical: right afb
ter arri al of the Wizzair flight
v
from Eindhoven and located
at or on the road to the final
destination of those who came
straight from the Netherlands.
Discussion on the challenges of doing business in Macedonia
challenges of doing
business in Macedonia
After everybody introduced
themselves, Arno Scheidmann
elaborated on the history and
operations of Karma Bella
that started in Macedonia in
a
utumn 2002. The company
has another subsidiary in Poland and the Beumkes Group,
a family business to which Karma Bella belongs, also opera
tes a furniture factory in Bulgaria. Peter Verheyen, Deputy
Head of Mission at the Nether
lands Embassy, opened the
discussion on mutual issues of
doing business in Maceonia.
d
During lunch the discussions
continued with the exchange
of experiences, in particular on
bureaucracy.
Continued discussion at lunch
photos, illustration: NL Chamber
No less than twelve companies,
members of NL Chamber, have
Dutch (co-)owners who do not
live in Macedonia, but regularly travel back and forth. They
highly value the network of NL
Chamber as Mark Lammers,
Managing Director of Holmak
HeatX BV, said on business
network LinkedIn: “Especially
the support and co-operation
between Dutch entrepreneurs
is very valuable”.
3
4. newsletter no. 3 / September 2013
events
Fashion Fair Modefabriek Amsterdam
Vima Fashion from Kocani joined NL Chamber to the Fashion Fair Modefabriek in
A
msterdam and organized a networking tour along its Dutch clients.
Like Dutch fashion industry
association Modint suggested
(page 6 in the previous newsletter: http://bit.ly/19xMcn1)
NL Chamber organized a visit to
the fashion fair Modefabriek in
Amsterdam in order to get familiar with the latest trends on
the Dutch fashion market and
to catch up with some major
brands. Wim Westen of Vima
Fashion from Kocani accepted
the invitation and dded joined
a
visits to his clients.
600 brands
Modefabriek takes place twice
a year, in January and July,
showcasing over 600 brands
on 40,000 sqm, attracting
nearly 20,000 international
visitors in two days.
Various brands presented at
Modefabriek are familiar with
the Macedonian ashion indusf
Summum Woman produced in Macedonia before the economic crisis
try: Dutch Summum Woman,
Corel and Mexx, German
Lebek and Zaffiri and UK Ted
Baker all have experience
with outsourcing production to
Macedonian manufacturers.
Serbian IVKO Woman
next fair: 26/27 January 2014
see: www.modefabriek.nl
Also Corel has experience with outsourcing production to Macedonia
Three of the 20,000 visitors
photos: NL Chamber, Modefabriek/Press Only Amsterdam/RvdA
Also present was the Serbian
brand IVKO Woman, represented through German SHETrading GmbH. Dutch representative is Jos Zwerink of
Sjosz Mode from Zutphen.
4
6. newsletter no. 3 / September 2013
events
Visiting clients with Vima Fashion
Following the fashion fair Modefabriek, Wim Westen of Vima Fashion took the chance to
visit Dutch and Belgian clients and introduce them to NL Chamber.
“For most of its Dutch and Belgian clients Vima Fashion has
been working for many years.
Therefore it was my pleasure
to introduce them to NL Chamber of which Vima Fashion is
co-founder and member,” says
Wim Westen, technical director
of Vima Fashion in Kocani.
six weeks through put time
The first visit concerned a
fashion company with an
amazing production cycle. The
owner proudly explained: “We
make about a hundred new
designs per week. Our sup
pliers get two weeks to produce the fa rics and get them
b
to Macedonia. Meanwhile we
prepare the patterns and provide the trimmings. Production
of the garments with an ave
rage order size of 1,500 pieces
Well organized chaos for an amazing production volume and speed
is mana ed by Vima Fashion at
g
various factories in Macedonia.
Within six weeks after the design, our customers have the
garments in their warehouse.”
These customers are large
Dutch, Belgian and French retail chains for ladies’ wear.
theme party wear
Another loyal client of Vima
Fashion is active in a
totally
different segment of the
f
ashion industry with a collection of hundreds of items for
Carnival, Hallo
ween, Christmas, Sinter laas, or any park
ticular theme party wear.
riding in style
Wim Westen (The Hague, 1945) is an allround garment production expert who
worked all over the world in managing
production orders. After working everal
s
years for Dutch and Belgian companies in
Mace onia he started the garment producd
tion agency Vima Fashion in 2004. In 2008
Vima Fashion opened its own production
facility, moving into a new building in 2014.
Riding in fashionable tailcoat
photos: NL Chamber
Fancy costumes with lots of details at theme party wear company
One of the smaller clients of
Vima Fashion is also active in
a niche market: highly fashio
nable tailcoats for the equestrian sports.
6
7. newsletter no. 3 / September 2013
projects
Netherlands Embassy: Customs and business climate
Both NL Chamber and the Netherlands Embassy regularly receive comments on customs requirements and procedures. NL Chamber provided background information with
which the Embassy initiated a dialogue with the uthorities.
a
Right after summer a few
companies approached the
E
mbassy with comments on
requirements from the Mace
donian customs authorities
which they referred to as
“excessive”. Since the Dutch
customs authorities have provided technical assistance to
their Macedonian colleagues
in a 10 year cooperation project and regulations are said
to have been copied from the
Dutch system, the Embassy
decided to explore the matter.
important factor in the
business climate
Deputy Head of Mission at
the
Netherlands
Embassy,
P
eter Verheyen: “The extend
of ustoms procedures is an
c
impor
tant factor in the business climate where international trade and investments
are concerned. The Embassy
Ambassador Schuurman and Director General of the Customs Admini
stration Vancho Kargov at a ceremony on 10 years cooperation between both customs authorities in November 2012.
and NL Chamber arranged
indivi ual discussions with end
trepreneurs with the purpose
to get better insight into the
practical impact of the Mace
donian customs operation.” A
first discussion with the Mace
donian Customs Admini tration
s
has already taken place and
the Embassy will continue
working on the subject.
This process will be continued.
network
Initiatives for bilateral chambers in Albania and Bulgaria
In June NL Chamber received
a request to share the experience as a Dutch-Macedonian
Chamber of Commerce with
the objective to establish a
similar organization in Albania.
An extensive corresponence
d
followed with Mr Jac Tempelaars, formerly employed at the
Dutch Chambers of Commerce
and currently professionally
engaged with Albania and Kosovo as country coordinator
for PUM Netherlands Senior
Experts. On Saturday 28 September a four-hour mee
ting
took place in Prizren, Kosovo.
Objective is to work together
in the future and therewith
reach a wider audience in the
Netherands for doing business
l
in both countries.
At another meeting in the
Netherlands in spring with a
consulting company active in
both countries, a similar idea
was discussed.
ting in Prizren took place, NL
Chamber received a phonecall
from the president of the Bulgarian-Dutch Business Club.
Mr Koos Schouten explained
that after 10 years of exis
tence of the business club, it
was time to go to the next le el
v
and eventually even provide
Dutch companies in Bulgaria
with contacts in Macedonia.
Bulgarian Dutch
Business Club
Only five days before the mee
www.bg-nl.com
photo: Netherlands Embassy
From Dutch businessmen in both Albania and Bulgaria NL Chamber received requests
for sharing experience in order to built up a similar organization in those countries.
7
8. newsletter no. 3 / September 2013
Sponsors of Foundation NL Chamber
www.nlembassy.org.mk
www.pivaraskopje.com.mk
www.boekestijntransport.com
8
9. newsletter no. 3 / September 2013
members
Dutch Natuurgevelsteen exploring Macedonian quarries
Luxureous villas, a centre for remedial education, infrastructural objects: natural stone
from quarries all over Macedonia pops up in various Dutch construction projects.
After having sold his business to his son, Thijs Zomer
had a free hand to focus on
something new. With his close
friend Jan Zwiers who spends
several months per year in
Mace onia he started with the
d
import, promotion and sales of
natural stone from Macedonian
quarries through his company
Natuurgevelsteen BV.
sustainable employment
Quarry near Radovish, East Macedonia
With the first imports in 2008,
the partners were directly res
ponsible for the reopening of
a quarry, provi ing jobs for 17
d
people from the local village of
Velmej, some 30 km north of
Ohrid. “We have a small percentage of stone from other
countries, but generating sustainable employment is our
main motivation for working
with five Macedonian quarries,” Zomer says.
The company also invested in
equipment: an excavator and
breaking machines, placed at
the quarries. Zomer: “These
investments reduce heavy
physical labour and enable
more added value.”
adjusted for processing
Also pink stone available
The robust looks of natural stone
Natural stone as a product
Final result of a natural stone wall
photos: NL Chamber
The “added value” Zomer refers to, was essential for the
success of Natuurgevelsteen:
“Investors and architects were
very enthousiastic about the
9
10. newsletter no. 3 / September 2013
aesthetics of natural stone.
Contractors however, predicted
practical problems with cavi
ty wall insulation and significantly slower processing due
to differing sizes and shapes of
the stones. Delays and ising
r
costs would be the result,”
Zomer clarifies the hesitation
of investors to choose natural
stone. “With the breaking machines the stones are cut to
brick dimensions, with an easy
to process, flat innerside while
preserving the rough natural
stone look on the outerside.
The stones are all carefully
stacked with the outerside
f
acing up for quickest handling
at the construction site.”
Geplastik
When in Macedonia, Jan wiers
Z
stays in Gevgelija. Zwiers: “A
close friend of mine in Gevge
lija is Zoran Gjurov, director of
G
eplastik DOO and member of
NL Chamber. For the celebration of the first Dies Natalis of
NL Chamber early this year at
Skovin Winery, Zoran asked me
to join him. Afterwards we kept
in touch by phone and email,
Bob Smit joined us to visit two
quarries and of course we decided to become member as
well, through my Macedonian
company Helbi DOOEL.”
Thijs Zomer
Jan Zwiers
www.natuurgevelsteen.nl
fb.com/natuurgevelsteen
twitter.com/ngs_bv
members
Dutch company bought Holmak Bitola
The Macedonian producer of heat exchangers Holmak was bought by a Dutch and became
part of German group Centrotec Sustainable AG.
32 stamps, 276 signatures
“After approval of the Macedonian Competition Authority,
the take-over was settled on
13 June with 32 stamps and
276 signatures at the notary,”
says Mark Lammers, mana
ging director of Holmak HeatX.
“The bureaucracy is quite substantial,” clarifies Lammers,
“but doing business in Mace
donia is very pleasant with
good opportunities for all kinds
of production.”
Holmak factory in Bitola
investment in second
production line
“In Staphorst we run a production facility for plastic heat
exchangers, with a capacity of
24,000 per year. In Macedonia
we produce some 1,200 alu-
minium heat exchangers per
month and we are currently investing in a second production
line for our largest type of heat
exchanger, the TS110.”
www.holmak.eu
www.centrotec.com
Aluminium counter flow plate heat exchangers at Holmak in Bitola
photos: NL Chamber, Holmak HeatX BV
The company Holmak DOOEL
was established in 2005 for
production of aluminium counter flow plate heat exchan ers.
g
Several of its customers are
part of the large German group
of companies in energy-efficient technology for buil ings,
d
Centrotec Sustainable AG in
Brilon. Centrotec decided to
take over Holmak and placed
it under the newly established
company Holmak HeatX BV in
Staphorst, the Netherlands.
10
11. newsletter no. 3 / September 2013
members
Feydom sofas and lounge suites for the Dutch market
Great concept, enormous enthousiasm and unlimited energy for participation in trade
fairs and travelling to potential clients: Feydom Furniture is wanted everywhere!
Feydom Furniture DOO was
established in 2006 in Skopje
by the energetic and cheerful designer couple Filimena
and Zoran Radonjanin. With
60 employees Feydom creates award-winning sofas and
lounge suites, conquering the
European market.
Feydom collection 2014: MATACAO
simply extraordinary
Packed into a concept of unicolour rectangular shapes, the
taut lines of Feydom may seem
simple, but the philosophy behind is far from ordinary. By
redefining sofas as a combination of smartly designed elements, Feydom adds multiple
appearances and functionality
to a single product.
clever limitation
continuous sales efforts
Both owners frequently travel
abroad to participate in trade
fairs and meet potential lients,
c
also in the Netherlands.
Bob Smit, executive director
Award winning model Q6
of NL Chamber: “At a recent
visit to the Netherlands mid
July, we met with an energetic,
creative entrepreneur, just like
Filimena and Zoran Radonjanin. He was immediately enthousiastic about the Feydom
concept and saw good opportunities for his online business
in design furniture.” Right after
the summer holidays Feydom
travelled to the Netherlands to
meet with this and another potential client they got to know
through the international furnishing show IMM in Köln early
this year. Smit: “Since negotiations are currently taking
place, we cannot disclose any
names, but we expect Feydom
soon to have a solid base on
the Dutch market.”
www.feydom.com.mk
www.facebook.com/feydom
www.twitter.com/feydominteriors
www.youtube.com/channel/...
photos: NL Chamber, Feydom Furniture DOO
Other seemingly simple but
again extraordinary principles
of the Feydom concept are in
clever limitation of raw materials and transport volume.
In order to reduce costs, risks
and complexity of logistics,
Feydom only uses one type
of fabric in only eight colours,
whereas the product elements
are also designed for optimal
packaging and minimum space
in storage and transport.
11
12. newsletter no. 3 / September 2013
service
Market Scan
Members receive a 50% discount on the preparation of a Market Scan.
A Market Scan is a short overview of a certain market with
key statistics on for example market size, information
on relevant regulations and
contacts of key players and
organi ations in that market.
z
focus
The objective of a market scan
is to decide whether a certain
market is interesting enough
for further efforts and, if so, to
focus the efforts on the lar est
g
or most promising marketsegments or companies.
Scope, contents and price is
always defined in consultation.
statistics
graph 1: internet usage
graph 2: mobile internet
ed to mainly Belgium, Germany and the UK.
source: www.gfactueel.nl
Agenda
Internet usage
short
Webshopping
The Dutch online retail market was 9.8 billion EUR in 2012
with 88 million transactions by
10.6 million consumers. For
2013 a further growth is expected to 10.5 billion EUR.
source: www.thuiswinkel.org
Strawberries
The Dutch strawberry production in 2012 was 15 million kg.
Almost half of that was export-
Toplocations
The annual study by magazine
Elsevier on Dutch toplocations
for business shows municipa
lity Haarlemmermeer as no. 1,
followed by Zwolle and Eindhoven. Airport Schiphol is the
“motor” for Haarlemmermeer.
Amsterdam is ranked 23rd.
source: www.elsevier.nl
25.11 Forum on doing busi
ness in Macedonia
KvK Rotterdam
26.11 Forum on doing busi
ness in Macedonia
Greenport Venlo
XX.12 Seminar on Customs
and Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) in
co-operation with the
Netherlands Embassy
Invitation will follow.
illustrations: NL Chamber
In the EU internet usage is
highest in Sweden and the
Netherlands with 94% of the
population. For mobile internet
usage, the Dutch are fourth
with 56%, mostly on smartphone. Sweden is first (70%),
followed by the UK (63%) and
Denmark (61%). In Germany
mobile internet usage is only
31%.
source: Statistics Netherlands
12
13. newsletter no. 3 / September 2013
short
Calendar of Trade Fairs
With a new year coming up, it is time to plan next year’s trade fairs.
Selection of trade fairs in the
Netherlands and Mace onia.
d
NB: All blue text is clickable!
The Netherlands
Major trade fairs take place at:
Jaarbeurs, Utrecht
99,000 sqm, 13 halls
www.jaarbeurs.nl
RAI, Amsterdam
87,000 sqm, 11 halls
www.rai.nl
Ahoy, Rotterdam
30,000 sqm, 6 halls
www.ahoy.nl
Regional locations for trade
fairs:
Brabanthallen,
‘s-Hertogenbosch
29,500 sqm, 6 halls
IJsselhallen, Zwolle
17,000 sqm, 4 halls
MECC, Maastricht
29,500 sqm, 4 halls
Most fairs in the Netherlands
have entrance fees and offer
discounts for early registration
online.
Please do not hesitate to
contact NL Chamber when
you plan to visit a fair in the
Netherlands.
Macedonia
Major trade fairs take place at:
Skopje Fair, Skopje
16.000 sqm, 6 halls
www.skopjefair.com.mk
photo impressions of the fairs:
www.fb.com/SkopjeFair/
Entrance tickets can only be
purchased at the spot; online
registration is not possible.
Please do not hesitate to contact NL Chamber when you
plan to visit a fair in Macedonia.
The Netherlands
13-16.01.2014
14-19.01.2014
16-17.01.2014
22-23.01.2014
22-24.01.2014
26-27.01.2014
03-07.02.2014
04-06.02.2014
11-14.03.2014
12-13.03.2014
18-20.03.2014
02-03.04.2014
20-21.05.2014
20-22.05.2014
Horecava and Wine Professional, RAI - Amsterdam
400 food service exhibitors; 100 wine exhibitors
Dutch Tourism Expo, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht
850 exhibitors; first day for professional visitors only
Vakbeurs Facilitair, Brabanthallen - ‘s-Hertogenbosch
products and services involved in facility management
i.e. all internal non-core activities of companies, like
maintenance, cleaning, catering, mailroom, reception,
it-support, vehicles etc.
Biovak, IJsselhallen - Zwolle
350 exhibitors in the sustainable organic food chain
Gevel and Material Xperience, Ahoy - Rotterdam
products and technology for facade construction
materials expo for architects, creative professionals
Modefabriek, RAI - Amsterdam
sales exhibition of the major fashion brands
VSK, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht
air treatment, heating, sanitary systems and energy
Integrated Systems Europe, RAI - Amsterdam
integrated electronic systems: audio, video, lighting
ESEF, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht
engineering and subcontracting
Transport & Logistics, Ahoy - Rotterdam
StocExpo, Ahoy - Rotterdam
180 exhibitors: pums, valves, pipes, tanks and related
Empack, Brabanthallen - ‘s-Hertogenbosch
packaging materials, machines, coding, labelling etc.
World Private Label / PLMA, RAI - Amsterdam
european private label producers in food and non-food
3,800 exhibitors, 68 countries, 42 regional pavilions
VIV Europe, Jaarbeurs - Utrecht
animal husbandry and processing
Macedonia
Note: All mentioned fairs in Macedonia are organized by the same organizer and at the same place. At this moment the respective pages on
the organizer’s website do not include any further details.
04-08.03.2014
25-30.03.2014
10-12.04.2014
10-12.04.2014
24-27.09.2014
14-18.10.2014
Build and Construct
construction, building materials and construction
mechanization
Mebel
furniture, interior, woodworking supplies and
machinery
Days of Education
universities and major employers
Skopje Travel Market
congress tourism, agrotourism, rural tourism,
wine tourism etc.
AgroFood Fair
food and beverages
Tehnoma Fair
metallurgy, electronics, energy, non-metals,
security, protection
13