Mr Bauer, could you briefly tell our readers

what the Czech-German Chamber of

Commerce and Industry does? Germany is

the biggest export territory for the Czech

Republic. What is the secret behind the

mutual benefit of our cooperation?

It is no secret that Czechia, as well as

Germany, are very industrially successful

countries. Among all the European countries,

Czechia’s economic structure is most similar

to Germany’s. If we then take into account

our shared cultural history and geographical

proximity, we can see that the prerequisites

for a successful partnership are already in

place. One third of Czechia’s exports go to

Germany and German businesses know that

they can expect quality and reliability from

our products, meaning that we have been

able to build trust between our two countries,

and trust is possibly the most important part

of business. It is also important to point out

that our mutual trade is important for both

countries. Czechia is Germany’s tenth most

important business partner globally, ranking

above even countries like Spain and Russia.

We, as the Chamber of Commerce and

Industry, offer Czech and German companies

a vast network of contacts and services as well

as a representative body for communication

with politicians and the general public. We

conduct research to identify areas of CzechGerman trade that have room to grow and

make sure that companies can stay dedicated

to their business rather than be drowned in

bureaucracy.

Are German investors and business

owners satisfied with the conditions

Czechia offers them for business? What

could we change or work on in order

to make these conditions even more

mutually favourable?

German investors greatly appreciate the

productivity of local employees as well as

the availability and quality of local suppliers.

What we still need to work on, nonetheless,

is a lack of employees; we are currently in

a deficit of hundreds of thousands, which

makes multiple big projects impossible. It

seems that even above-average pay, offered

by German employers, is not enough.

Another factor that needs improvement

is the digitisation of government

administration. Each year we conduct

a business cycle study where we ask

German investors which countries in central

and Eastern Europe are the most interesting

in terms of investment. The Czech Republic

held the top spot in these studies for years,

however, it was recently beaten out by

Estonia, with their more advanced levels of

digitisation.

Do company representatives and

members of your chamber consider

Czechia, or even the Moravian-Silesian

Region, as a lucrative location for

business?

Definitely. That is why there are so many of

them. This is best illustrated with specific

examples, like the globally successful

company Brose in Kopřivnice. When

a company of such a caliber chooses

a region as a base for their development, it

means that it views the area to have great

potential. Another example, Siemens,

one of the largest investors in Czechia,

opened an R&D centre in Ostrava to

develop electric motors and solutions for

Industry 4.0. This is a strategic investment

with global reach.

German investors also supported

a practically oriented pilot project in dual

education in the Moravian-Silesian Region,

and Brose was one of the parties involved

in it. I already mentioned the big issue of

Czechia’s lack of qualified employees.

If the Moravian-Silesian Region were

to implement the programme of dual

education, the region would have a great

advantage over the rest of the country

within only a couple of years.

Currently, there are many German

investments in the Czech Republic that

drastically help the development of

automation, robotisation and digitisation.

What is your personal view on Industry

4.0 and digitisation? What are your hopes

for the future of the cooperation between

Czechia and Germany?

With all due respect, it was our chamber that

got the ball rolling on Industry 4.0 for the

Czech Republic back in 2015. Over the past

roughly seven years we have come a long

way, and it comes as no surprise because,

in order to keep up with global competition,

countries need to adapt their economies to

global trends, be it digital interconnection

or, for example, sustainable technologies.

These are fields that have a high probability

of increasing the value of domestic industry.

My main hope for the future is the

continuation of our close partnership.

A mutual exchange of experience will

definitely be necessary as the MoravianSilesian Region is undergoing the shift

away from the coal mining and heavy

industries into cutting-edge industrial

models. Germany also still has to face

some of these similar changes, therefore it

will be beneficial for both our countries to

work together to develop new sustainable

production processes and business models.

We, as the Czech-German Chamber of

Commerce and Industry, will be heavily

supporting these efforts.

Mr Bauer, thank you for the interview.

Text: Ing. Radúz Mácha

Foto: archiv ČNOPK

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