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”The North Botnia railway is good for Europe”

Written maj 15th, 2012 by karolina

Last week VIA had the opportunity to listen to Pierre Schellekens, who is responsible for the European Commission in Sweden. The seminar about the North Botnia railway sent positive signals, Schellekens stated that the North Botnia railway is good for Europe. He gave several reasons to be optimistic about a completion of the railway: among other things Schellekens pointed out that North Sweden really is important to the EU, and that the region is regarded a growth region, partly because of the mining industry.

Interphex in New York

bjorn Written maj 3rd, 2012 by bjorn

This years Interphex gives a positive feeling. Many companies is moore optimistic than last year. Among other thing, I found an interest in process design and what Umeå Design Institute has to offer.

New York Times recognises northern Sweden as a suitable site for data centers

Written maj 2nd, 2012 by karolina

A future hub of Facebook’s global data traffic is now starting to take shape in Luleå, in North Sweden. As computing moves to the cloud, where data are stored on remote computers, companies are racing to make their power-hungry data centers more efficient. Naomi Powell, the New York Times describes how data centers require enormous amounts of energy to operate and cool the servers, that leaves them vulnerable to high electricity costs and criticism from environmental groups.

While the cold climate in the Nordic countries provides natural cooling, Sweden, Norway and Iceland are also leaders in the production of inexpensive renewable energy. Naomi Powell points out that the driving motivation for cloud companies when choosing a location is almost always the cost of land and power and the financial incentives available. Electricity prices in northern Sweden are relatively low, habitation is low and hence access to land is very good. On top of that Sweden offers financial aid especially to companies that are going to establish their business in the northern parts of Sweden.

North Sweden seems to be a natural place for data centers, in several ways!

To read the article in the New York Times, please follow the link:

”Nordic Countries Increasingly Attractive as Sites for Data Centers”

Visiting one of Europe’s top GIS-clusters

inger Written april 26th, 2012 by inger

Last week I and my colleague Nina got to spend some quality-time with the GIS-companies in Lycksele. We got in-depth information from some of the companies and of course met with the GISTECH organization.

This is really what I love about this job, to get the opportunity of meet with so many talented people working at interesting companies, and we do have a lot of them in Västerbotten. We started by talking to Sofia Gideonsson, Project Manager at GISTECH, and Lars-Åke Nyström, Process Manager at IGIS, who told us about the exiting innovation projects going on. For example a new gps-system for rally cars, more efficient road maintenance systems and there are other, confidential, projects being tested.

Cartesia GIS let us in on what they are doing as an IT-company with their heart and soul in gis-based solutions. They are offering a broad spectrum of services and products to both public and private sector, ranging from logistic systems for municipalities to airborne solutions for Saab. Another big sector for them is the GPS Timber system for large sawmills around Europe.

We also met with ChartIKS, who offers web based solutions for clients who want to present their huge amount of data on a map in order to make it more graspable. This is a young, up and coming company with a clear focus on customer needs as the single one most important issue.

The consulting company GeoSupport gave us their view on things, how they help clients find out what they need and how they can get it. GeoSupport work solely as a consulting company with no products of their own, they just do the cherry picking for their clients. They are also involved in several interesting new projects, but they have to remain secret a little while longer.

All in all it was, as expected, two packed and interesting days and we still only had time to meet with some of the companies this time. This cluster of gis-companies, with the high density, their cooperative spirit and innovativeness is truly an exiting environment for any company working with gis-solutions and looking to expand in Scandinavia.

VIA recieves diplomas for best FDI Strategy

Written mars 23rd, 2012 by karolina

Anders Wangby and Inger E. Pedersen recieved diplomas on behalf of Västerbotten and VIA in Cannes a couple of weeks ago. Since we are very proud to be ranked for best FDI Strategy in Financial Times listing of Regions of the Future we just have to show them to you!

VIA apologizes for inconvenient e-mails

Written mars 20th, 2012 by karolina

Unfortunately we have had problems with someone using the company directory contacts to send inappropriate e-mails/ spam. We are truly sorry about this and are trying hard to ensure the security.

Once again, we apologize and are doing what we can to sort out the problem. If the problems continue, please do inform us about this matter.

Proud to present our new website!

Written mars 8th, 2012 by karolina

For the past few months we have been working hard to complete our new website. Since Västerbotten Investment Agency’s focus has been broadened to include investment promotion into Tourism, Creative Industries and Geographical Information Systems, we have been eager for these sectors to show on our website. The sector Climate testing and training now also includes aircraft, train and wind turbines, instead of just cold climate vehicle testing. More updates and additional information will be added continuosly.

The new website is compatible with your mobile device and tablet.

We hope that you will enjoy your time spent on our new website and that you find the interesting information that you are looking for.

Financial Times considers Västerbotten to be a winner in FDI strategy

Written februari 17th, 2012 by karolina

We are happy and honored to be on Financial Times list of ”Cities and Regions of the Future 2012/2013″. Västerbotten was ranked in 23rd place in Europe in Foreign Direct Investment strategy. On the list of the top 10 northern regions with the best FDI strategy, Västerbotten was placed eight.

Västerbotten Investment Agency choose to take part of the credit and continues our work. We are excited about the future!

New year and many news 2012

inger Written januari 10th, 2012 by inger

We have just entered the new year, 2012, and this year is sure to bring about several new changes here at Västerbotten Investment Agency. New sectors, new web and new colleagues. We will tell you all about it shortly, but until then we wish everyone a great new year and look forward to meet our old friends again and make new friends along the road.

MEDICA in Dusseldorf

bjorn Written november 18th, 2011 by bjorn

This years edition of MEDICA gave an impression of being less busy than last years. Although the number of exhibitors were roughly the same it felt less crowded. I met with a number of companies working on different applications of biomedical sensors. It is clear that Västerbotten has a unique opportunity to solve some important questions. We now have to pull the right people together and make things happen. Tele-medicine and e-health are other strong areas in Västerbotten that we will see growing in importance.

Facebook will build new data center in Luleå – our sincerest congratulations!

inger Written oktober 27th, 2011 by inger

Now it’s finally official that Facebook will build their first data center outside of the US, and the location they decided upon is Luleå in the north of Sweden. The investment is estimated to 5 Billion SEK and several hundreds of jobs are expected to come as a result. This is a huge investment not only for Luleå but for all of north Sweden and it’s our hope that more data centers will follow.

We congratulate all of those who have been involved in the process that has taken over two years. Invest Sweden, Luleå Näringsliv, Invest in Norrbotten and so many more have worked day and night with this project. Today they can all rejoice and reap the fruit of all their hard work. Once again congrats and hopefully the next data center will be placed in Västerbotten!

Read the article Bad Bugs – No Drugs from Nordstjernan in Chicago

inger Written oktober 5th, 2011 by inger

In the article published in the magazine Nordstjernan, BadBugsArticle-sep2011 Kerstin Nicholson writes about the successful event arranged by the Consulate General of Sweden and the Swedish Embassy that gathered the world’s leading researchers and companies battling infection diseases. The event was initiated by our colleague Björn Ursing, and turned out to be a real big hit with the participants.

In his own words Björn said:

“The outcome of this event far exceeded our expectations, 60 people participated in the presentations and discussed the latest research findings. We are extremely proud that the research being done in Umeå is amongst the world leading within infection control. This was another opportunity for Swedish companies and researchers to network with big international pharmaceutical companies and researchers.”

We have a press releasein Swedish available as well that tells a bit more about the event, and if you are curious to find out even more just give him a call or send him a mail. Press – Västerbottniskt initiativ samlade ledande aktörer inom infektionsforskning i Chicago

Phone +46 70 811 12 68
Bjorn.ursing@viavasterbotten.se

Updated stats about the wind power projects in Västerbotten

inger Written september 21st, 2011 by inger

We have now updated the map showing the windpower projects in Västerbotten with the latest stats from August 2011. You’ll find them here >>

This is the time for change

inger Written september 2nd, 2011 by inger

As you probably know we are about to hire two new persons to join the VIA-team and the respons has been great. So many qualified people have sent in their applications and now we will wait and see you the new team-members will be.

Part from the recruitment process this fall has really taken off flying. We are busier than ever with visits from potential investors to our region and several “old friends” have come around with new interest again. We couldn’t be happier to see this development and we do our very best to accommodate everyone’s wishes. But if you want to catch us at the office that might be a tricky task, although you can always get a hold of us by mail or phone. So don’t hesitate to pick up the phone or send us a mail.

We are hiring!

inger Written augusti 15th, 2011 by inger

Västerbotten Investment Agency is growing and we need to fill two positions, one Market Manager and one Trade Show Coordinator. Read more about the positions here.

Fluent Swedish is required and the text is in Swedish.

BIO 2011 in Washington DC

bjorn Written juni 30th, 2011 by bjorn

This years BIO in Washington DC is very rewarding. Since many in senior management of big pharma is here I have been able to get good meeting with the right people. In general, this year the regional and national pavillions are dominating the exhibition and most of the business is concentrated to the partnering. But the presence of the Scandinavian pavillion should not be underestimated. Next years BIO is a must for me.

As seen on TV – a feature of Aslean International Tires on TV4

inger Written juni 27th, 2011 by inger

Last week was the official opening of Aslean International Tires and the press was present. It resulted in a feature on the regional TV4.

Västerbotten Investment Agency is granted expansion and extension

inger Written juni 7th, 2011 by inger

Västerbotten Investment Agency recently got a green light from the EU Structural Funds for the financing of two more years. In addition to the extended time Västerbotten Investment Agency will also expand their focus sectors to include Creative Industries, Tourism and GIS. These new sectors will complement the already established sectors; Cleantech, Automotive, Mining, Life Science, Manufacturing and Wood. In the future Västerbotten Investment Agency will also focus on Trade Shows and offer regional companies the opportunity to exhibit in a “North Sweden Pavilion”.

- I’m very proud over my staff and the results that we have accomplished so far. Of course we are extremely glad that we’ve been given this trust to continue our work with to strengthen the image of Västerbotten internationally, says Anders Wangby, Director, Västerbotten Investment Agency.

- Regarding trade shows we have for quite some time seen that Swedish companies in general do not prioritize to exhibit at international fairs. We would like to change that and together with our neighbouring regions, Norrbotten, Jämtland and Västernorrland, we’d like to offer our companies the opportunity to exhibit under a common “North Sweden Pavilion”, Mr. Wangby says and continues;
- We want to accomplish a win-win situation for the companies and for the region as a whole, by working together we’ll be able to strengthen each other’s images.

The approved financing lasts until the end of 2013 and the goal is that Västerbotten Investment Agency will transform into a permanent organisation after that. This expansion and broader focus will require more personnel and two new persons will be hired.

- We expect to hire two additional persons to strengthen our team. The recruitment process will start later in the fall and we hope to find the right people quickly and get them up to speed as soon as possible, says Mr. Wangby.

The results after roughly two years in operation for Västerbotten Investment Agency are 13 new investments to the region. Investments and new jobs that each year generate close to 28 MSEK back to the region.

For more information please contact

Anders Wangby
Director
Västerbotten Investment Agency
+46 70 595 19 30
Anders.wangby@viavasterbotten.se
www.viavasterbotten.se

The second VIA-day and great international interest for Västerbotten

inger Written maj 31st, 2011 by inger

In the middle of May we arranged the second consecutive VIA-day for the municipal representatives in Västerbotten, our most important partners as they are our eyes and ears out in their respective municipality. We try to gather all the municipalities at least once a year for a one-day event. The purpose is of course for us to inform everyone about what’s happened and what’s new. Even though we regularly send out information in various shape and form everyone knows that there’s nothing that beats the personal meeting and the face-to-face interaction. So, at least once a year we want to gather as many municipal trade developers from the region that we can.

Last year we were in Lycksele but this year we decided on Vindeln for our get together. During the day we talked about what VIA has done since we met the last time and our forecast for the future. From our perspective the outlook is positive, we are experiencing an increase in interest from foreign companies. More and more want to come here for visits and we see more companies that actually pick up the phone and contact us and say that they’re interested in the northern part of Sweden.

That means that we sometimes have the delightful problem of shuffling our schedules around to be able to take care of our visitors and setting up meetings with the regional companies. We see this upturn not only in Västerbotten but in all of northern Sweden, there is really a hausse taking place now.

Now I’m off to see other future trends, the graduating students at Umeå Institute of Design are presenting their work and that ought to be something out of the ordinary!

Our future is decided upon tomorrow – will there be a VIA 2.0?

inger Written maj 18th, 2011 by inger

Tomorrow, Thursday the 19^th of May 2011, we will receive the final “go” or “no go” on the extended life of VIA. We all keep our fingers crossed and hope that we will be granted a prolonged financing of our project. If all goes according to plan the next phase of VIA, VIA 2.0, will bring along a set of new and exiting sectors and other new elements. But we’ll tell you more after tomorrow.

We are all happy with the work that we’ve done so far, but all of us are eager to show that we can do much more. We have only started to promote Västerbotten around the world and the opportunities here in the northern part of Europe just seem to grow more and more.

Globally the interest for the Arctic Region and the Barents Region is really booming, not only for the natural resources but also for other sectors as well such as technology, energy, tourism, infrastructure etc. This part of the world is definitively one of the big hot-spots in the coming years and we hope that Västerbotten Investment Agency will be one of the messengers spreading the word about what’s going on in our region and the endless amount of opportunities there are here.

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