About the West region
Sweden is a country with very strong regional population densities and trade characteristics. The West Sweden office has been established to:
1) Make West Sweden a more accessible region for Dutch companies and employees to work in;
2) Promote The Netherlands among West Swedish entrepreneurs as an attractive country to invest in.>
To achieve this, the regional office provides:
- A strong regional network for both Dutch and Swedish entrepreneurs and business people;
- Informative, networking and trade events
- Practical information about working and trading in West Sweden.
About West Sweden
Special for West Sweden is that it has strong links with Norway (the distance to Oslo is only 300 km), Denmark and Germany due to the good logistics (Landvetter airport and the ferries to Fredrikshaven and Kiel). Several international companies have therefore their head office for Scandinavia here.
Since 1995 the West Swedish economy has grown steadily and is about to reach an all time high! The economic situation is very good and companies are advised to make use of the booming economy. “Now is the time to make those investments needed before a future downturn”, says Anders Källström, managing director for the West Swedish Chamber of Commerce on their web site. Since the beginning of 2003 the prognoses for West Swedish companies has been positive. This is reflected in the rating of West Swedish companies on the stock market. In this light it is interesting to see how several Dutch entrepreneurs have been successful in the take over of a Swedish company. Källström also says that “West Swedish growth is mainly export driven”.
Gothenburg is the motor of West Sweden. Most of West Sweden’s inhabitants live in or nearby the city. It is expected that the Gothenburg region will have about 1,5 million inhabitants within 15-20 years, due to improved infrastructure in the region. Other cities in West Sweden include Kungsbacka, Kungsälv, Stenungsund and Borås.
The education level is high. The technical University Chalmers in Gothenburg delivers highly skilled potential staff for businesses in Sweden, like Delft University does in The Netherlands. But it does not stop here. There is a whole range of competences and skills in West Sweden which will help companies to succeed.
Facts & Figures:
- More than 50% of Scandinavia’s total industrial capacity is located within a 300 km radius of Gothenburg
- Today 1,969 foreign owned companies are located in the Gothenburg region, an 11% growth since 1994;
- There are over 150 Dutch owned companies in the region, representing a growth of 14% since 1994;
- Even more impressive: The Netherlands is among the top 5 of foreign owned companies who employ the most people in the Gothenburg region;
- Today, the Gothenburg region has 940 000 inhabitants;
- Landvetter airport’s total freight volume is approximately 150 000 tonnes;
- The Gothenburg region has approximately 300 biotech companies, half of which have their own product development facilities;
- Gothenburg = automotive industry: it is the home of Volvo AB, Volvo Car Corporation and administrative offices for Saab;
- Gothenburg region has about 3 700 IT related companies;
- West Sweden is at the forefront of development of environmental engineering and environmentally adapted products and services;
- The largest petrochemical centre in the Nordic countries is located in the Gothenburg region.
- The region has good and modern office space.
Important Links in West Sweden
West Sweden Chamber of Commerce: Västsvenska Industri- och Handelskammaren
Events: Svenska Mässan
Regional newspaper: Göteborgs-Posten
Regional SME's newspaper: Företagare Emellan
Zweeds Nederlandse Vereniging in Gotenburg/Swedish Dutch Society in Gotheborg
The Professional Womens Group of Gothenburg: an English-speaking network for women interested in various aspects of business and meeting like-minded people. They organise monthly meetings, mostly with a theme and a guest speaker. For more info see: www.pwggothenburg.org.