Time for Poland
"Time for Poland" Project has gained an international setting
Spurred by "Time for Poland" Project on 1 and 2 June in Düsseldorf a lot of talks were conducted about Poland, its place in Europe and also about Polish printing industry in this context. It was the culmination of numerous months of efforts by the organizers, who were presided over the Polish Guild of Gutenberg Knights. The project was designed, among others, to construct a blueprint for effective existence of the printing industry in the consciousness of Polish decision makers and abroad - among potential customers. By working with a broad range of partners representing various environments of economic self-government, this formula was expanded onto the issues of vocational education.
Such a universal message of the Project allowed enlisting a large group of institutions and self-government organizations. The patronage was granted by the following institutions: Ministry of Development, PARP (Polish Agency for Enterprise Development) PAIiIZ (The Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency), The Marshal of Masovian Voivodeship, The President of the Capital City of Warsaw, The Polish Craft Association, The Polish Chamber of Printing, The Polish-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, The Association of Polish Banks, The National Chamber of Commerce, The Union of Printers. Equally rich remains a group of cooperating entities, which include the following: ECMA Poland - The Union of Carton Processing Employers and their suppliers, PLEFTA - The Polish Flexographic Association, SIMP - Printers Section, Pomeranian Printers Association, The Association of Printing Entrepreneurs in Krakow, The Polish Association of Screen and Digital Printing, Masovian Chamber of Craft and Entrepreneurship, The Warsaw Guild of Bookbinders.
An especially strong substantive and organizational support for "Time for Poland" Project came from the Chamber of Crafts of Düsseldorf, as well as the Department of Trade and Investment Promotion at the Consulate General in Cologne.
The Project would not have had such momentum without the involvement of commercial entities. The group supporting the project consisted of the following entities: the patrons of the project - Henkel and Heidelberg, strategic patrons - BGK, KPMG, Grafikus - Graphic Systems and supporting partners - Böttcher, Follak, INFOSYSTEMS, Joppol, KartonPak, KOTKAMILLS, Opolgraf, Quad Graphics, Scorpio, Weilburger.
"Time for Poland" first appeared in Düsseldorf on June 1 in the Chamber of Crafts Dusseldorf. An Economic Forum was organized and it had a particularly powerful official setting. Besides the host of the evening, Mr Andreas Ehlert - The President of the Chamber of Crafts, there was also Mr Thorsten Klute, the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Labor, Integration and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia. Poland was represented by, among others, Mrs Małgorzata Wypych and Mr Tomasz Solomon, the director of the Department for SMEs' support in the Ministry of Development, Mr Stanislaw Hebda, Consul in charge of Investment Promotion in Cologne, and Mr Dariusz Wojtaszek of PARP. The speakers also included Mr Jerzy Bartnik of the Polish Craft Association, Mrs Agnieszka Clarey of the Mazovian Chamber of Crafts and Entrepreneurship, Mr Stephanus Lintker of The Energy Agency North-Rhine Westphalia, Mr Peter Hentschel of the Bank of North-Rhine Westphalia, Mr Piotr Dukielski of BGK. The whole event was moderated by Mr Jacek Kuśmierczyk – The Chancellor of the Polish Guild of Gutenberg Knights.
The Economic Forum in accordance with the idea of "Time for Poland" represented an open formula, and apart from printing, also other issues were discussed, namely the issue of vocational training, financial instruments for Polish and German companies interested in foreign investments, and the topic of Polish - German cooperation in the field of renewable energy sources.
The Economic Forum showed that on both Polish and German sides there is a need for further initiatives, which would bring together businessmen to conduct joint business projects.
The second edition of the initiative called "Time for Poland," namely the conference titled "Active in Europe," took place on June 2 at DRUPA 2016 Fair in Dusseldorf. In one of the largest halls of the Congress Centre the sixth edition of the report "The market for printing and printed packaging in Poland" was presented. After four years, once again Polish printing houses have made their appearance in the global forum - Drupa Trade Fair. The achievements of our industry were stressed in the speeches by the following individuals: Mr Jacek Bajger of KPMG, who presented the report, Mr Jerzy Czubak of Amcor Tobacco Packaging, Dr Stefan Strenger Henkel and Mr Jacek Kuśmierczyk - The Chancellor of PGGK. A broader perspective taking into account the entire Polish economy was sketched in the speeches by Ms Małgorzata Wypych and Mr Tomasz Salomon of the Ministry of Development.
The conclusions stemming from the presentation of this year's research allow for optimism. The value of production sold in 2015 amounted to nearly 14 billion PLN, which represents almost 7% increase compared to the previous year. Printing companies, especially medium and large enterprises, positively assess the situation in the industry. An important role affecting the development of the industry, as highlighted by one of the members of the study representing KPMG - Mr Jacek Bajger, is export to foreign markets. High quality of services, geographical location and relatively low labor costs provide Polish entrepreneurs with an effective competitive advantage, both in the EU and beyond. "The market for printing and printed packaging in Poland" is currently the only such a large source of knowledge about the domestic printing industry. It is also the basis for risk assessment for institutions financing and insuring the industry. Its value also focuses on the continuity of research, which allows one to keep an eye on changes in the sector.
The report is recognized by partners related to the industry.
The project was attended by a number of entities associated with the Polish printing. The general partner was Heidelberg Poland, and the main partners included the following: Electronics For Imaging INC., Reprograf S.A., DuPont Polska, Technology Partner - Interak printing house, which had printed the publication. The companies supporting the report included the following entities: UDS Sp. z o.o., Henkel Polska, Grafikus – Graphic Systems, Biblioteka Analiz, U.P.R. Pasja Jacek Stencel, Lotos Poligrafia, Chespa Sp. z o.o. Multitechnika Gorlak i Synowie, Avargraf, Quartis, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Opolgraf, Drukarnia Grafkarton A. Matyasik, Follak, Bjornberg 1781, Rynek Książki. Organizations and institutions of Local Economic Self-Government participating in the project included the following: Polish Chamber of Printing, The Association of Polish Engineers and Technicians SIMP - Section of Printers, Pomeranian Printers Association, Polish Association of Screen and Digital Printing, ECMA Poland and their suppliers, The Polish Chamber of Flexographers, The Association of Printing Entrepreneurs from Krakow. The following universities also provided their support: Department of Printing Technology of the Institute of Mechanics and Printing at Warsaw University of Technology, Institute of Papermaking and Printing at Lodz University of Technology. Media partners of the project included the following: Poligrafika, Opakowanie, Świat Druku, Świat Poligrafii Professional, Digital Business and Vidart.
During the Conference there was an enthronement of the new Guild members representing the printing industry from Central and Eastern Europe. At the same time one of the most important purposes of "Time for Poland" was highlighted - building bridges of cooperation and exchange of information between entrepreneurs and institutions in this part of Europe.
Apart from a very large support in the organization of the Conference and the whole project, its patrons: Henkel and Heidelberg, conducted interesting substantive presentations referring explicitly to DRUPA 2016 Fair taking place simultaneously. On behalf of Henkel spoke Mr Mario Eckers, and on behalf of Heidelberg spoke Mr Harald Weimer.
A specific summary of the "Active in Europe" Conference took place during the meeting, which was held immediately after the conference with the managing director of Messe Dusseldorf - Hans Werner Reinhard. A representative of the Fair expressed his interest in "Time for Poland" initiative and the organization of the next edition of the conference on the occasion of DRUPA Fair. Thus, one of the key objectives of the project may be fulfilled - to build permanent mechanisms to promote the Polish printing industry.
Numerous institutions, organizations and companies contributed to the creation of "Time for Poland" project. Together they created a unique platform, thanks to which the issue of Poland, recognized from various perspectives, was very clearly accentuated in Dusseldorf. The response with which the project has been met convinces The Polish Guild of Gutenberg Knights that such actions should be continued.