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The Investor Relations Department, using modern technologies to work remotely or in a hybrid model, has stayed in constant contact with investors and promoted Poznań in Poland and abroad.

The first months of the pandemic brought new initiatives and tasks for Invest in Poznan. In collaboration with the Department of Education, we conducted a collection of computer equipment for students who were not able to learn remotely due to the lack of a proper device. Local companies invited to the action showed much support and commitment. We prepared also a series of articles where Poznań modern services centres shared their remote working experiences.

The "ZaGRAjmy w Wielkopolsce" ("Let's PLAY in Wielkopolska") project (co-financed by EU), prepared by the Investor Relations Department for the gamedev sector, had to be postponed to 2021 due to travel restrictions. Instead, this year we have prepared a promotional material - a catalogue of game development studios in Poznań, where you can learn about their activities (available on www.poznan.pl/inwestycje).

The most important event in the office real estate market has been the start of construction of Andersia Silver - the highest building in Poznań.

Pozitive technologies

The online conference organised by us in collaboration with Partner companies: Capgemini Software Solutions Center, Allegro S.A., Sollers Consulting, GSK Poznań Tech Hub, Sonalake and Egnyte, and with support from the sponsors: BAE Systems, Beyond.pl, F-Secure, GFT, Merixstudio and NEXT: IT, attracted almost 1,000 visitors. More than 500 people watched the streaming on pozitive technologies' fanpage. For our participants we prepared the main stage and 4 thematic paths with names referring to Poznań districts: Jeżyce++, GrunSec, WilData, PiątkOps. There were also two debates, fantastically led by Wiktor Doktór, Pro Progressio CEO, and a live podcast "Piątki po deploy'u" ("After-Deploy Fridays") hosted by MerixStudio experts. We also had a foreign lecturer, André Kovac. The event's success is proven by the average time each participant spent with us: over 250 minutes!

One Internship Programme - Multiple Development Paths

The Investor Relations Department's Internship Scholarships programme has been implemented since 2015. So far 38 people have benefited from this form of support. We have decided to take a look at their further careers.

Wavin Shared Services Sp. z o.o., Paulina Małecka: To date we have organised as many as 7 internships under the City of Poznań's programme. The first one started in 2017 and its beneficiary still works with Wavin Shared Services Sp. z o.o., at present as a Manager. As many as five people, that is almost 72% our former interns, have remained involved with our organisation and continue working with us. Two of our former interns are now in management jobs. The remaining three are specialists whom we offer further significant development opportunities and achievable career paths. Everyone who has chosen to stay with our organisation works under an employment contract.

The internship programme gives us an opportunity to learn about employees' competencies, skills and preferences as well as their ways to handle work under time pressure. It turns out that many applicants demonstrate values we highly appreciate and so we are able to propose positions well suited to our young interns' expectations and ensure that they will be able to continue their development at our organisation.

You can read other stories - of an architect or a Poznan University of Technology student who had been our intern and then established a startup and employed interns himself - on the website www.poznan.pl/inwestycje.

Investors Choose Poznań Even in Difficult Times

In 2020, new investment projects in the modern services sector have proved quite a challenge due to the fact that business trips have not been possible. Luckily, the investment attractiveness of Poznań is well visible online as well :). The company SKF, already present in Poznań in the manufacturing sector, has opened its shared services centre.

There have also been several new projects implemented by companies already active in the Poznań modern services sector. GSK, a global pharmaceutical giant, has decided to strengthen its IT hub in our City by restructuring its operations. Simpler positions have been eliminated and replaced by new ones, for people with more experience and qualifications - well adjusted to the Poznań IT market.

GFT Poland, an IT company, has also located its new project in Poznań. The company received a grant of PLN 2.3 million from the Ministry of Economic Development to create 210 new jobs within an R&D centre, of which 75 in Poznań. GFT is searching for specialists to perform highly advanced tasks for global financial institutions as well as the insurance and industrial sectors.

Another IT company, Lumen (CenturyLink), is also going to increase its activity in Poznań.

The news of great importance to Poznań, Poland and the entire Central and Eastern Europe region was Beyond.pl's announcement regarding the expansion of its Data Center with even more secure and state-of-the-art solutions applied. According to the plans, Beyond.pl is to increase its target capacity 5 times, from 8 to 42 MW, and the area occupied by the company will be almost four times larger.

At the end of 2020, we have several open projects that should be successfully completed in 2021. Stay tuned!

We Manufacture Nivea Cosmetics and Bridgestone Tyres - What's Next?

700 million zloty - this amount is to be invested by the company Beiersdorf AG in the extension of its production plant in Gnieźnieńska St. in Poznań. After the extension, the plant will be a workplace for up to 800 people (increase by 50 percent compared to the current employment) and will double its production capacity.

The new facility will apply for the LEED Certificate confirming its sustainable impact on the environment. The extended Beiersdorf Manufacturing Polska factory will become a strategic production centre specialised in innovations. Ultimately, the plant will manufacture up to 400 million pcs of products from Beiersdorf's portfolio per year.

Bridgestone is going to allocate over 160 million euro for investments in Poznań. The objective is to increase the daily production capacity to 40,000 tyres. The Japanese tyre manufacturer started the construction of new production halls in February 2020. The buildings will house rolling mill and vulcanisation divisions. Their usable area will exceed 50,000 m2. The investment will create new jobs as well.  The company plans to increase the number of employees by 150.

Where Have Poznań Been Promoted?

In 2020, the Investor Relations Department has published two reports. The first one, on the real estate, in cooperation with CBRE. Then there is a comprehensive report on the investment potential in Poland prepared by the company Walter Herz, which, of course, features Poznań. We could not organise a panel discussion on this occasion in the real world, so we moved to the digital. This allowed us to reach a wider audience. The City of Poznań was also present at the events organised by ABSL: ABSL Diamonds and ABSL Digital Forum. We have continued our efforts to attract new employees to Poznań by promotional activities at the JOBICON Job Festival or IT conference 4developers. Our fruitful cooperation with the British Polish Chamber of Commerce has brought about several online events concerning new challenges faced in 2020.

We hope that 2021 will give us more occasions to meet in the real world and spend time together. Poznań has a splendid business community, open to new employers and employees. Come to Poznań! #działamy