News
April 15, 2009
University in ‘Europe’s Greenest City’ Eyes Pact With SCAD
A university in the Swedish city that calls itself the "greenest city in Europe" will travel to Savannah next week seeking partnerships with local universities.
Växjö University has been in talks with the Savannah College of Art & Design, and representatives from Växjö will meet with deans of two SCAD schools during the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneurial Days conference in Savannah April 20-22.
Read the full article here.
April 14, 2009
Swedish ‘City in Transformation’ Looks for Business Partners in Georgia
- Malmö’s Move From Wharf Industry to Knowledge Economy
Read the full article here.
April 6, 2009
Sweden’s U.S. Ambassador Will Speak at Savannah Entrepreneurial Conference
Sweden’s ambassador to the United States, Jonas Hafström, is scheduled to speak in Savannah April 21 at Entrepreurial Days, billed by its promoters as the most important Swedish-American business networking and trade conference.
Read the full article here.
February 27, 2009
Green Circle Bio Energy, the world’s largest wood pellet plant, is coming to Edays
Green Circle belongs to the JCE Group, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. About 90 per cent of the Groups operations are located outside Sweden. The JCE Group was founded 1971 by Captain Christer Eriksson and is operating in Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, United Kingdom and USA. The company has its roots in the offshore oil & gas industry and has over the years deliberately diversified its activities and is now also operating within areas such as forestry, real estate, construction, distribution and IT & telecom. Morten Neraas, Senior Vice President Commercial/Finance Green Circle, will do a key note presentation at the Edays conference on Wednesday April 22 on the theme “Accessing Growth Capital for a Sustainable Future”. Green Circle has built the world’s largest wood pellet plant in North Florida which started production in May 2008 with an annual capacity of 560,000 tons. The company has been established with the purpose of becoming a major player in the international market for alternative, carbon neutral energy. Green Circle is projecting more pellet plants to be built in wood fiber rich areas over the next few years.
February 17, 2009
Swedish Know-How Can Help the U.S. Cut Oil Dependency and Switch to Green
Enough talking, it’s time to Change to Green was the message at a SACC-USA February 6 seminar in Washington, D.C. where 150 Swedish and American business men and women came together to explore new opportunities in clean tech.
“The largest problem for the U.S. is lack of competitiveness in an era where energy is continuing to be expensive,” said Ross Harding, head of Energy Launch Partner, and in charge of the clean tech cluster at the upcoming Edays in Savannah, Georgia, April 20-22. The U.S. was lulled into complacency by cheap oil, while Sweden pushed bioenergy and energy efficiency. “These technologies are known and have been used in Sweden for 40 years. They can be deployed now, the economics works, and we are seeing it happening quickly,” he said, adding that we are standing in the brink of an enormous growth in spending on biomass-based energy. “The opportunities are truly enormous,” he said.
January 26, 2009
Skanska USA’s Atlanta Headquarters: Employing Southern Hospitality through Sustainability
As an eco-friendly builder, Skanska USA Building (the United States division of Skanska-the international, Swedish-based construction company) has renewed its green, Southern roots. For good reason, the company is proud of its Georgia Peach-Skanska USA’s Atlanta Headquarters, a space which employs Southern hospitality through sustainability. In 2007, Skanska USA ranked as the number one green contractor out of fifty top companies by Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) first-ever survey of Top Green Contractors. If ever in the Atlanta area, one can see why this sustainable office is a healthy space for the environment and Skanska USA’s employees, clients and prospects; the space even promotes the green industry at large. Skanska offers a Green Tour—that is, a 21-point walk-through of their Atlanta office.
January 16, 2009
Sweden Puts Its Bets on Green Tech
Sweden boasts some 3,500 clean tech companies that together book roughly $14 billion in revenues. Exports, which make up about a quarter of their overall sales, have grown 75% over the last four years. To further boost the industry, the government is earmarking $590 million for environmental projects over the next two years, including $180 million to commercialize green tech. None other than King Carl XVI Gustav has become the green industry’s biggest promoter and fan. The 62-year-old king, whose environmental activism goes back to his Boy Scout days, is also taking to the road to pitch Swedish green business. The king also sees Swedish exports and the environment as natural partners. "We’re a small country, so we’re dependent on exports. And we’ve always lived in a clean environment, close to nature." He admits change isn’t easy but says, "We have to think in the long term, not short term as we have before, but still make this happen quickly. I try to change my own thinking. We have to make this happen and not just discuss it.
Read the article from BusinessWeek here >>
January 14, 2009
The Wallenberg Family invests in Swedish invented Lithium Battery
The Wallenberg family, one of the most influential and wealthy families in Sweden, is investing more than 200 Million SEK (about $25 Million) in the lithium battery making company Boston Power. The native Swede and inventor of the battery Christina Lampe-Önnerud addressed at the Entrepreneurial Days in Stockholm last September that consumer demand for longer lasting batteries continues to rise. However the industry’s drive for higher performance and lower cost has come at the expense of quality and - ultimately - safety. The lithium-ion battery technology that powers the portable devices consumers rely upon - laptops, PDAs and mobile phones - has reached a critical point in its evolution. Hewlett Packard will start using the battery this spring in their new lap tops.
Read the article from Dagens Industri here (in Swedish) >>
January 8, 2009
President-elect Obama Ready to Put Americans to Work with Clean Energy
Responding to President-elect Barack Obama’s economic stimulus speech this morning at George Mason University, League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski issued the following statement:
“This morning, President-elect Obama reaffirmed his commitment to invest in efficiency and clean energy technologies as part of his economic recovery package. Ready to hit the ground running, he offered specific details that offer great hope for America’s future success.
America’s economy is ailing and the prognosis for the planet is dire. The cure for both these ills is a new clean energy future. Putting millions of people to work installing solar panels, producing wind turbines and making two million homes more efficient is just what the doctor ordered. President-elect Obama’s prescriptions will address the twin challenges of an ailing economy and the threat of global warming.
January 7, 2009
Time to do Business in Savannah!
When the Edays executives met with the local press in Savannah, GA on January 7, the topic was doing business between the U.S. and Sweden. Now in its 11th year, the fifth version of the Entrepreneurial Days to come to the United States will take place April 20-22 in Savannah.
"Think of it as a launching pad to make solid business connections," said Brynn Grant, executive director of The Creative Coast Alliance, a sponsor of the event.
The goal of the three-day event is to bring together U.S. and Swedish companies to promote trade and partnerships. By using a wide network and contact-generating tools and methods, the Swedish American chambers ensure that products, services and information are presented in the right way to the right people.
Grant said the technique is "a lot more productive than the typical conference where you sit by yourself in seminars and hope you meet up with at least one person that your company can work with. This way you have more opportunities to develop actual business contacts that you can use," Grant said.
Read the article from the Savannah Morning News here >>
December 11, 2008
Rockford Trade Mission listed in Report for Successful Business
The newly released report What Works for Small Businesses - A State and Local Government Reference Guide of Proven Practices for Assisting Small Businesses (2008) from the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee lists a number of successful programs for business development. The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee have compiled hundreds of initiatives from 38 States around the U.S. Rockford Area of Economic Development, Illinois mention their trade mission to Lidköping, Sweden in conjunction with the Swedish-American Entrepreneurial Days in 2006, organized by Swedish-American Chambers of Commerce (SACC-USA).
Since Rockford Area of Economic Development’s participation in the Edays, a sister city relationship between Rockford, IL and Lidköping, Sweden is established and the organization has attended all Edays events since the one in Lidköping 2006. Last they were in Stockholm Edays in September 2008. Next they plan to be in Savannah, GA where the 2009 U.S. Edays event will take place on April 20-22.
December 5, 2008
World-known Swedish Adventurer Renata Chlumska joins Speaker Program for Savannah Edays
Renata Chlumska - the first Swedish woman to climb Mount Everest and performer of the "Around America Adventure” is joining our stellar speaker program for Savannah Edays. Ms. Clumska toured 48 states on a kayak and a bicycle in 2005-2006. She will share some of her adventures around America with the Edays audience in Savannah, accompanied by Anders Pehrsson, Professor at Växjo University in Sweden and writer of the newly released book "International Strategy: Methods for Competitiveness". Together Renata and Anders will share their best tips of how to set realistic goal and how to reach them.
December 5, 2008
Anders Berggren, CEO Marmon Retail, Bershire Hathaway, to deliver
keynote address at Savannah Edays
Anders Berggren will join the stellar list of speakers for the Savannah Edays in April 2009 on the theme “Capital Growth”. Mr. Berggren, who served as SACC-USA’s chairman 2003-2004, brings a lot of insights to the overall theme for the three-day conference; Accessing Growth Capital for a Sustainable Future with his extensive international experience as former President of Husqvarna and now as CEO for Marmon Retail Fixtures, a billion dollar company within the Marmon Group, which Berkshire Hathaway bought in March.
December 3, 2008
Savannah joins Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia
The City of Savannah has become the first municipality in Georgia to receive designation as a “Bronze Level Partner” by the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia, a state-sponsored voluntary environmental leadership initiative. Becoming a “Partner” will allow Savannah to access state resources, such as grant funding, to improve environmental efforts and help the Savannah achieve its sustainability goals.
December 1, 2008
Swedish Alternative Fuel Company to locate in Georgia
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that Woodlands Alternative Fuels plans to locate a mill to produce wood pellets and chips in Thomas County, creating 50 jobs and investing $15 million. “With the location of Woodlands Alternative Fuels, Georgia continues to be at the forefront of the national movement to a higher level of renewable energy,” said Governor Perdue. “We are truly the Bioenergy Corridor of the nation.”
October 30, 2008
Edays Shines in Stockholm - in the Midst of Financial Crisis
More than 430 business leaders, entrepreneurs, economic developers and government officials met at SACC-USA’s Entrepreneurial Days in Stockholm September 15 – 16, 2008 with one common goal: Increase trade, commerce and investment between across the Atlantic. Nearly 130 of the 430 Edays participants came from the U.S.
Most importantly the results when it comes to new business relations, partnerships, investments, government- and academic exchange seem very promising.
August 26, 2008
Georgia Delegation to Stockholm
As Swedish and American business executives and entrepreneurs prepare for the e-Days business matchmaking events in September in “cool” Stockholm, others are preparing the way for a similar business matchmaking to take place in “hot” Savannah in April 2009. That’s Savannah as in Georgia!
August 20, 2008
Savannah Officials pursue Green Strategy
Local governments around the nation have led the way in implementing climate change policy, and now Savannah is getting into the act. Discussions at coming City Council meetings will include discussions about Savannah signing a pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 15 percent by 2020 and to adopt a bicycle-friendly commuting plan. The mayor along with city council members signed a pledge Thursday to make Savannah more eco-friendly. The goal of environmental health is also part of the city’s vision statement. "There’s a lot of talk about being green and sustainable," Mayor Otis Johnson said. "If we’re going to lift up as part of our vision statement being environmentally healthy, we have to walk that talk."
August, 2008
America Goes To Sweden To Open Doors For Swedish Clean Technology
It’s been said before, Sweden has the technology. Now, there is a market in need.
- In the next few years, the U.S. will probably be the largest business opportunity worldwide for renewable energy considering all current changes socially, financially and politically. Even though Sweden is a small country, it’s uniquely positioned and respected with very high quality and world-leading technology. And, this is what we want to combine, excellent technology with the largest market in the world, says Ross Harding, Vice President Business Development of Herty Advanced Materials Development Center.
