BPCC CEO, Martin Oxley, and Treasurer, Joe Smoczynski, received the
award at a high profile dinner attended by COBCOE chamber presidents
and directors from 20 EU countries, the president of the British
Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and senior representatives from the
Confederation of British Industry (CBI), and UKTI at the exclusive RAC
club in London's Pall Mall.
"The nomination for this year's Best Chamber award was very
competitive. For a combination of best overall activity, membership
growth, outstanding performance, best events programme and best
sponsorship an external, independent high profile jury has spent
significant time reviewing a number of excellent submissions. The
runaway leader is - for an historic third year running and a real
leader of the pack - the BPCC", announced David Crackett, board director of COBCOE and president of the British Chamber of Commerce for Italy.
The independent jury panel comprised: Nick Wood, Head of Business
Development, Barclays Intermediaries & Corporates; Bob Rothenberg,
Senior Partner, Blick Rothenberg Chartered Accountants and Rudi Bogni,
Director, Old Mutual Plc and Prospect Publishing.
"On behalf of the entire membership, chairman, board,
patrons, the British Embassy in Warsaw and the executive team of the
Chamber, it is with an immense sense of achievement and pride that the
BPCC is lifting this trophy for a record breaking third time - it is
absolutely fantastic news!" said Martin Oxley.
Best Single Event award went to Lithuania, Best Sponsorship to the
British Hellenic Chamber and Best Membership Growth to the British
Romanian Chamber.
"The suspense was unbearable. People had been saying all day
you can't win third times running! The competition for the Best Chamber
was intense with excellent submissions from established EU markets. At
first I couldn't believe it then a roaring cheer filled the room. It is
a great honour for the Chamber to receive this award yet again. I would
like to dedicate it to our members at the same time thanking them for
their sustained support and involvement. Our members are the single
focus of our activity andthis award is a credit to our service of them " said Oxley. "There
is a clear link between the BPCC's activities across Poland and the UK
- nearly 100 events organised during the 12 month period taken into
account by the award judges and the continued strong growth of
UK-Polish bilateral trade. In 2006, trade flows between the two
countries grew by 72% while Poland moved up the league table of the
UK's largest trading partners from 25th to 18th place, overtaking
India, Australia and South Africa," he concluded.
About COBCOE:
COBCOE is an independent, non-profit organisation representing British
Chambers of Commerce throughout Continental Europe. Founded by its
members in 1973 to meet their need for a collaborative platform,
COBCOE’s membership today spans 23 countries and represents about 6,000
European businesses from all sectors of trade and industry. Partnering
with the British government and the European Union, COBCOE ensures that
matters of common interest are heard more effectively than through
separate individual chamber representations.
COBCOE Chambers retain their autonomy and individuality but are able to
undertake joint initiatives through their umbrella organisation. Each
Chamber employs its own bilingual staff with the aim of promoting trade
between their country and the UK. The chambers meet once a year at the
COBCOE Annual Conference to assess progress on joint initiatives and
agree priorities. This meeting provides the opportunity for Chamber
Presidents, Board Members and Chief Executives to exchange views,
discuss activities and evaluate viable services.
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The COBCOE Chamber of the Year Award is an annual award which is
presented to the best British Chamber of Commerce in Continental
Europe. It recognises outstanding performance in the promotion of trade
and investment, representation of British business interests in Europe
and innovation of activity.
More details: www.cobcoe.eu
British Polish Chamber of Commerce (BPCC)
BPCC was set up in 1992 and now has over 450 members drawn from the
Polish, British and international business communities in Poland and
the UK. BPCC Member companies directly employ over 156,000 people in
Poland and the UK.
The BPCC is an independent, not-for-profit organisation, which assists
in the development of British-Polish business links. The current
membership represents the broadest range of industrial and commercial
sectors. Any British, Polish or international company, which may
benefit from the services offered through membership, is welcome to
join.
We have a well-developed business network and a regular programme of
events both in the UK and Poland Events include conferences and
workshops, business mixers and breakfast briefings, where members can
meet senior politicians and officials of Polish, British and European
governments, as well as other opinion leaders.
We produce a quarterly magazine Contact International Business Voice,
which is a platform for the exchange of experiences in the area of
British-Polish trade and run the British-Polish business portal
www.bpcc.org.pl which is one the largest bilingual sources of
information about doing business in Poland and UK.
We are active in all major cities in Poland work closely with business
development organisations, including British Chambers of Commerce
across Europe, the British Embassy, UK Trade and Investment, the
Confederation of British Industry, Council of British Chambers of
Commerce in Continental Europe (COBCOE), local UK chambers of commerce
in the UK and the Polish Embassy in Great Britain.
Last year, the BPCC's Polish Exporters' Roadshow series of seminars
visited 16 Polish cities and attracted over 600 Polish SMEs interested
in exporting to the UK. This Roadshow continues in 2007 and will visit
at least 18 Polish cities this year. In the UK, the BPCC last year
organised 14 meetings with British entrepreneurs, covering various
topics concerning trade with and investment in Poland.
The BPCC's Annual Conference is the largest British-Polish
trade and investment event of the year. It is a chance for British and
Polish entrepreneurs to make new business contacts and win new export
orders.
The Chamber has launched a series of sector forums, bringing together
firms from specific parts of the economy. In November, it organised an
agri-food forum, at which major UK buyers met Polish producers and food
processors; last week it organised an automotive sector forum aimed at
introducing Polish manufacturers into the UK industry's supply chain.
For two years in a row (2003 and 2004) BPCC was nominated to COBCOE
'Chamber of the year award' and received the Award in the year 2005,
2006 and 2007.
For more information please contact:
Martin Oxley, BPCC CEO
e-mail:
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Tel: +48 (0) 22 320 01 00
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