3/16/2007

Ethernet Direct signs RA Controls as rep in Poland

Taipei, Taiwan, March 15, 2007 – Ethernet Direct Corporation, a professional and primary provider of Industrial Networking and communication solutions, is proud to announce the partnership with RA Controls in Poland to serve the Polish region with real time customer support and best quality product support.

RA Controls is a division of INTROL Group, consists of several companies that have years of experience in providing technical solutions. With their well-prepared group of engineers and technicians, RA Controls is able to offer design, supply, installation and activation of automatic and electrical appliances.

Industrial Automation has been a growing market in Poland and RA Controls has established close relationship with various Polish customers in various industries, including petrochemicals, mining, power, water treatment, paper, food, chemical and civil engineering. This makes the whole Group the leader in the Polish automation market.

Industrial Ethernet products from Ethernet Direct are now available from RA Controls. The partnership with RA Controls in addition to INTROL Group expands business coverage in Eastern European region, and to bring a complete industrial networking and automation solution to the customers. Product lines include Industrial Ethernet, Industrial Conversion, Industrial Modem, Serial to Ethernet, Data Acquisition Modules, Fiber Optic Ethernet, Media Conversion, Power over Ethernet and DIN-Rail Power Supplies.

About Ethernet Direct Corporation
Ethernet Direct brings a control system engineering perspective to networking technology. The principals of Ethernet Direct come from process-control and PLC system backgrounds.

The Global Ethernet Direct team covers operations from Product know-how, design implementation, quality assurance, manufacturing, logistics, sales, marketing & technical support. We are well-positioned to fulfill customers’ needs and markets’ demands by providing a great variety of tailor-made products and services. When you work with us, you will experience confidence and dependability. By choosing Ethernet Direct, you have chosen excellence & long-term commitment.

Our corporate headquarter is located in Taiwan with Ethernet Direct Partners across United States, Canada, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, and Middle East.
Source:automation.com



Flights to Poland

Novea - Business in Poland

3/14/2007

Employers for better legislation governing business in Poland

The Confederation of Polish Employers has produced a 'Green Book', enlisting problematic regulations that hamper economic activity in Poland.

The publication, entitled 'An employer-friendly state' will now be subject to a three month discussion within the environment, which are to result in the production of a 'White Book' containing concrete legislative propositions that could make business activity in Poland less troublesome. The 'White Book' is to be then passed to the government.

According to the Confederation of Polish Employers, Poland's tax system, the cost of employment and problems with proper functioning of the judiciary are the major obstacles for Polish employers.

The Confederation of Polish Employers is the oldest employer organization in Poland. It represents 5 and a half thousand companies, employing over 2 million workers altogether.

Source:http:poland.pl



Flights to Poland

Novea - Business in Poland

HD first for Poland’s TVP

The Polish public broadcaster TVP has become the first station in Poland to broadcast a programme in HD over the Internet. Known as Oficerowie, it is being shown by its interactive service iTVP and can be viewed on www.oficerowie.itvp.pl. TVP has also announced that TVP Historia, its next thematic channel, will be launched at the beginning of May. Two more channels – TVP Film and TVP Rozrywka – will make their debuts this autumn, while plans for an educational channel named TVP Nauka have been put on hold. TVP Historia was originally expected to launch in 2006, and yet another service – TVP Bialorus, aimed at neighbouring Belarus – is apparently now also ready to start. TVP is understood to be keen to increase the distribution of its sport channel TVP Sport, currently carried by the DTH platform n and INEA group of cable operators.
Source:broadbandtvnews.com



Flights to Poland

Novea - Business in Poland

Employers for better legislation governing business in Poland

The Confederation of Polish Employers has produced a 'Green Book', enlisting problematic regulations that hamper economic activity in Poland.

The publication, entitled 'An employer-friendly state' will now be subject to a three month discussion within the environment, which are to result in the production of a 'White Book' containing concrete legislative propositions that could make business activity in Poland less troublesome. The 'White Book' is to be then passed to the government.

According to the Confederation of Polish Employers, Poland's tax system, the cost of employment and problems with proper functioning of the judiciary are the major obstacles for Polish employers.

The Confederation of Polish Employers is the oldest employer organization in Poland. It represents 5 and a half thousand companies, employing over 2 million workers altogether.
Source:poland.pl



Flights to Poland

Novea - Business in Poland

Why Google put a research lab in Poland

KRAKOW, POLAND — When Artur Hibner graduates from college this year, he won't have to worry about getting well-paid work in his field right here in Krakow, Poland's thriving former royal seat.

For years, Western technology firms have come to Eastern Europe to lure away talented computer-science graduates like Mr. Hibner, who attends AGH University of Science and Technology. But now, the region's universities are producing so many top programmers that many firms are changing tack – and setting up shop at the source.

IBM, Motorola, and Google have all opened research labs here in Krakow in recent years, while Deutsche Telecom, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, and other giants have come to Budapest, Prague, Bratislava, and other cities where universities churn out skilled coders.

"They are looking for all kinds of people, from hardware developers to programmers," says Marek Zaionc, head of the computer-science department at Krakow's Jagiellonian University. "We have a lot of good young people in these fields, and we're still a lot less expensive than other parts of Europe."

Eastern Europeans have dominated international programming competitions in recent years, attracting the attention of tech firms. Last year's TopCoder Collegiate Challenge drew 21,000 registrants from around the world, but half of the 48 finalists were from former Soviet bloc nations, including the winner, Petr Mitrichev of Russia, who also won last year's Global Code Jam, a Google-sponsored competition.

Tomasz Czajka, a 2004 graduate of Warsaw University, became a national celebrity in Poland after winning three TopCoder competitions in 2004-2005, racking up winnings of more than $100,000.

"When we saw these trends, of people from Eastern Europe winning these contests, we decided to take a closer look," says Kannan Pashupathy, Google's head of international engineering operations. "People have a huge interest in software, and there's a much deeper grounding in mathematics in the curriculum in these countries."

The region's universities have long been strong in hard and technical sciences, especially under Soviet rule, which emphasized industrial and military production. Tech firms began taking notice after 2000, when it became clear that Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia would be joining the European Union in 2004.

Cultural, geographic, and economic proximity to Western Europe has given the region an advantage over global competitors like India. Salaries in the region are much higher than in India, but still one-third to half of those in Western Europe. Bratislava, Slovakia's capital, is a few minutes' drive from Austria, while Kosice, Krakow, and other cities are a short flight from London, Paris, or Berlin. EU membership makes investing all that much easier for western firms.

Mr. Czajka's celebrated TopCoder victories have made programming particularly attractive to young Poles. "Everyone knows Tomasz Czajka and everyone wants to be like him," says Hibner, who recently won an international math competition. "Last time I was in Warsaw, there was a huge poster of him in the center of the city."

At AGH, the computer-science department now gets seven to eight applicants per spot. "We could easily take many times more students if we had the professors and facilities to handle them," says department chief Krzysztof Zielinski. "We're happy to provide computer engineers for the companies – it is our job – but we need some help from them. Right now, we are alone."

Indeed, computer-science professors from across the region say they fear their departments will be sucked dry by Western firms. The private companies offer salaries two or three times higher than those at the university – several times more if the job is in the U.S. or Western Europe – making it difficult to recruit new professors or to replace those who leave.

"If this department is destroyed," Mr. Zielinski says, "there will be no new engineers."

The problem is even more critical in Kosice, a city of 240,000 in impoverished eastern Slovakia, whose year-old information-technology industry has expanded so fast it is having trouble finding programmers. "So many people had left the region to find work in Prague, Bratislava, or London, it made it hard for us to achieve critical mass," says Jozef Ondas, a native who is CEO of T-Systems Slovakia, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.

T-Systems, Siemens, and other companies in Kosice have found a solution: working together to help local universities increase their capacity to retrain engineers and other people with the necessary math skills, and to improve professors' incomes.

"We said: Why fight over the same 200 graduates each year?" says Mr. Ondas, CEO of T-Systems. "Let's invest and create an educational system that can produce 500 specialists each year."

"Businesspeople have come to the conclusion that they need the universities, not just their graduates," says Anton Cizmar, vice rector of the Technical University of Kosice. "I think it's a miracle what has happened here."

"If you invest in the university system and support research in areas of interest, students will naturally gravitate into those areas," says Mr. Pashupathy of Google, which opened its Krakow lab earlier this year. "It's a nice circle which ultimately benefits everybody."

Source: usatoday.com



Flights to Poland

Novea - Business in Poland

Century Casinos Acquires 33.3% Ownership Interest in Casinos Poland Ltd.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Century
Casinos, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNTY; Vienna Stock Exchange) announced today that
the Company's Austrian subsidiary, Century Casinos Europe GmbH, has
completed the previously announced acquisition of 100% of G5 Sp.z.o.o., a
Polish company, which holds 33.3% of all issued and outstanding shares of
Casinos Poland Ltd.
The total consideration for the transaction equaled $8,690,000, of
which $7,946,000 has been paid already. The remainder of $744,000 is
payable in six months.
Casinos Poland's seven casinos and one slot arcade, situated in major
cities in international four and five star hotels in Poland, generated net
operating revenues (unaudited) of PLN 158 million (approx. $53.7 million)
in 2006, representing a year-over-year growth of 24% compared to the PLN
127 million (approx. $43.2 million) generated in 2005.
"We are very happy to have closed this acquisition and look forward to
participating in and further improving Casinos Poland's success together
with the two other 33.3% shareholders of the company, LOT Polish Airlines
and the Polish Airport Authority," said Peter Hoetzinger, Co CEO &
President, Century Casinos, Inc.
About Century Casinos, Inc.:
Century Casinos, Inc. is an international casino entertainment company
that owns and operates the Womacks Casino and Hotel in Cripple Creek,
Colorado, the Century Casino & Hotel in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and the
Century Casino Millennium in the Marriott Hotel in Prague, Czech Republic;
operates the casinos aboard the Silver Wind, Silver Cloud, The World of
ResidenSea, and the vessels of Oceania Cruises; owns a 65% interest in, and
has a management contract for, Century Casino & Hotel in Central City,
Colorado. Through its subsidiary Century Casinos Africa (Pty) Limited, it
owns and operates The Caledon Hotel, Spa & Casino near Cape Town, South
Africa, as well as 60% of, and provides technical casino services to,
Century Casino Newcastle, in Newcastle, South Africa. Furthermore, the
Company's Austrian subsidiary, Century Casinos Europe GmbH, holds a 33.3%
ownership interest in Casinos Poland Ltd, the owner and operator of seven
casinos and one slot arcade in Poland. The Company continues to pursue
other international projects in various stages of development.
For more information about Century Casinos, visit our new website at
http://www.centurycasinos.com. Century Casinos' common stock trades on The NASDAQ
Capital Market(R) and the Vienna Stock Exchange under the symbol CNTY.
This release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties. Among the other important factors which could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements are economic, competitive, and governmental factors affecting
the Company's operations, markets, services and prices, as well as other
factors detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including its recent filings on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K.
Century Casinos disclaims any obligation to revise or update any
forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by it or on
its behalf.
Source:prnewswire.com



Flights to Poland

Novea - Business in Poland

Burger King To Open Store in Poland

Burger King Europe GmbH, a subsidiary of Burger King Corporation, awarded development rights for Poland to American Restaurants Sp. z.o.o., a subsidiary of AmRest Holdings N.V., based in Wroclaw, Poland.

The first Burger King restaurant in Poland is scheduled to open in the second quarter of the calendar year. The restaurant will be in Warsaw's new premium mall, Zlote Tarasy, which is one of the largest multi-use developments under construction in Europe. Based in the heart of Warsaw's central business district, the restaurant will be among 220 shops and retail outlets, providing the ideal platform for Burger King's entry into the Polish market. Additional restaurant openings are scheduled during the next five years.

Commenting on the agreement, Peter Robinson, president of Burger King Europe, sys, "We are very pleased to announce our expansion into Poland, which is part of our overall growth plan to increase our presence in both existing European Burger King markets and in strategic new ones. AmRest's expertise as the top quick-service and casual-dining restaurants operator in Central and Eastern Europe means that it is the ideal strategic franchisee to spearhead Burger King's entry into Poland. We look forward to a long and successful working relationship."

Henry McGovern, founder and CEO of AmRest, said, "We are excited about this opportunity to bring the Burger King brand to Poland. AmRest has a clear strategy operating scalable and highly profitable branded restaurant concepts. ... AmRest has outstanding experience in the Polish and Central and Eastern European marketplace, and we are confident that our customers will love the great flame-grilled taste of Burger King products."

AmRest employs more than 6,100 people and manages 200 restaurants, including 138 in Poland, 44 in the Czech Republic, and 18 in Hungary. Established in 1993, it has enjoyed success as the franchisee of such YUM! brands as KFC and Pizza Hut and as the owner of its own brands: Rodeo Drive and FreshPoint. Since 2005, AmRest shares have traded publicly on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Source:qsrmagazine.com



Flights to Poland

Novea - Business in Poland