Cent for Future and Golden Euro Award Gala

Kenia biuro The event was held for the fourth time. It was organized in co-operation with the Chairmen of all Polish provinces. An honorary patronage over the competition was extended by the Minister of the Economy Waldemar Pawlak and Minister for Regional Development Elżbieta Bieńkowska. The awards were presented on their behalf by Adam Szejnfeld – Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Economy, Hanna Jahns – Secretary of State at the Ministry of Regional Development and Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek – Editor-in-Chief of POLISH MARKET and Janusz Steinhoff – President of the Cent for Future Chapter. The “Golden Euro” prize (a higher level of the award) went to – in the “Product with a Future” category: Agro Danmis, Apis, LfC and Michelin Polska and in the “Polish Market Hope” category to Greinplast. The special prize – for the province with the highest level of innovative entrepreneurships was received by Zbyszek Zaborowski, Vice-Chairman of the Silesian province.
“Companies like yours – Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, POLISH MARKET Editor-in-Chief told the winners – are the bricks building Poland, which is not Europe’s technological backwater, contrary to what some headlines might describe. Your activities prove that the fight for a better future is being waged wages on a special front. Without commercializing knowledge, without tying science with technology and production, this fight cannot be won.”
Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Economy Adam Szejnfeld spoke about the role of the “Cent for Future” competition: “Poland achieved encouraging economic results in 2007. We mainly owe the 6.7% increase of GDP to the effort of entrepreneurs who have been operating on our market since several years. However, the state of the Polish economy in 5, 10 or 20 years will depend on the companies that are now entering the market, thus cannot yet be found in the rankings. By honouring them in the “Cent for Future” competition we are posing a question: what will become of these companies and these products? This is an obligation to fulfill”.
Secretary of State Hanna Jahns at the Ministry of Regional Development stressed the significance of each region’s input: “The economic success of Poland is made up of the economic success of particular regions. The innovativeness of the awarded companies is a part of it. I hope, that POLISH MARKET continues to support the guidelines approved and supported by the Ministry of Regional Development, thus investing in the innovative Polish economy.”
Krzysztof Grabczuk – Chairman of Lubelskie Province had this to add: “Nowadays, promoting the economy is crucial for all the local authorities. It is vital that we devote attention to our entrepreneurs. One in four euros in my region will be spent on direct support for Polish entrepreneurs. If Poland wants to hold a strong position in the EU, it can only do it thanks to well-established companies and knowledgeable, educated people. I believe this prize will facilitate their endeavors. “
Merchandising The winners emphasized that success brings about a new atmosphere in the companies. Robert Purzycki - PR & Marketing Manager at CD Projekt Sp. z o. o. represented a company which came up with one of Poland’s most promising export hits: a computer game based on an internationally acclaimed Polish phantasy classic: „We are honored to be awarded with the “Cent for Future” prize. It was our aim that the computer game, “The Witcher”, should be a distinctive Polish product. We are very happy that the game has become so popular and that it is such an artistic success. We are proud that we were able to create and successfully market the “Polish Spiderman” – to successfully create a product with Polish roots”. Michał Kaszuba – the president of DNA Research Center added: “I represent a very small company whose idea for business is innovativeness. We conduct DNA research. Each entrepreneur starting a business hopes it will be a success. This prize is very encouraging. But we feel encouraged also when our research brings hope to people. On the other hand the prize poses a challenge. We hope that the European equivalent of our Polish “grosz” (a one hundredth of the Polish zloty) – our “Cent for Future” – will bring us luck and our idea for business will develop even better”.
The need for innovativeness was particularly spotlighted by the winners of the “Golden Euro” competition, in which the Chapter appointed by POLISH MARKET looks at the performance of Cent for Future winners. Lechosław Ciupik, President of LfC said: “In my opinion, seeing a country’s economy through its innovative entrepreneurships is advisable. It is very motivating for companies. “Golden Euro” is a very inspiring prize. It creates an opportunity to meet people who exchange their ideas and experiences, meet and observe each other. This is very motivating to reach for the future”.
The sense of special motivation and obligation was expressed by Radosław Janik, president of the Apis Apiary Co-op – the winner of “Golden Euro” for the traditional mead: “We won the “Cent for Future” two years ago and it prompted us to take up certain activities. We are glad that their effect is the increasing visibility on the market, not just in Poland. We submitted our mead to the European Commission as a regional product. Today we are proud to receive the “Product with a future” prize. We consider this distinction to be a great honor, but first and foremost we pledge we will work harder. We hope that owing to the prize and the registration of our products by the European Commission, our mead will be frequently present not only in Polish homes, but also on foreign markets”.
The ceremony was attended by numerous VIPs including Paweł Wypych – advisor to the Polish President, Secretaries of State: in the Prime Minister’s Office: Michał Boni, in the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage – Piotr Żuchowski, Undersecretaries of State: in the Ministry of Regional Development – Janusz Mikuła, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Ryszard Schnepf, the Chairman of Lubelskie Province – Krzystof Grabczuk, Vice Chairmen of the Silesian and Western Pomeranian Province - Zbyszek Zaborowski and Witold Jabłoński, the President of Lubelskie Province - Genowefa Tokarska.
POLISH MARKET also hosted directors of governmental departments, representatives of Province chairmen offices, members of province authorities, presidents and mayors of cities, representatives of local governments, business organizations, Polish science and culture.
The artistic part of the Gala featured the world-famous tenor, Marek Torzewski celebrating the 25th anniversary of work. Torzewski was honored with a special letter from Bogdan Zdrojewski, the Minster for Culture. The “Cent for Future” gala was sponsored by ViaCon Polska, Real Management and Jantar Logistical Systems. Media patronage was extended by PAP, Superstacja, Builder, Manager, Nasz Rynek Kapitałowy, and Stolica.
What generates such interest and support for POLISH MARKET and the “Cent for Future” competition? Arkadiusz Płociński, vice president of Real Management, a developer who, for the second time, was Cent for Future’s sponsor explains: “Real Management’s mission is to complete unique projects, which stand out on the market. Our motto is “quality not quantity” and such products are awarded by POLISH MARKET. “
Joanna Targosz, Vice President of Jantar Logistical Systems, who last week was awarded with the European Commission Medal for the first successful Polish implementation of automatic data identification system based on radio technology said: “We have been working in partnership with POLISH MARKET for years. We highly value its competence and professionalism, impartial, in-depth analyses of Polish economy. We find it important to support an initiative which serves promoting Poland abroad. It is crucial that Poland puts its best foot forward, showing Polish input into European science and business”.


About the competition

Cent for the Future has been organized since 2005. Its idea is for province chairmen to pinpoint those new companies that hold the most promise for rapid growth and products or services which in the province chairmen’s opinion stand the best chance of becoming market hits. The two respective categories are known as Polish Market Hope (companies) and Product with a Future (products and services). Each of the winners receives a symbolic eurocent for good luck. This is in line with the Polish tradition of showering newlyweds with small change. A year after the Cent for Future winners are announced, the chapter of the competition takes stock of their activities over the previous twelve months to decide which of them registered the fastest growth. The best are awarded the Golden Euro prize.
The Cent for Future chapter includes Tadeusz Baczko of the Institute of Economics at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Andrzej Blikle, President of A. Blikle Sp. Z o.o., Zbigniew Hockuba, National Bank of Poland Board Member, Wojciech Heydel, acting President of PKN Orlen, Grażyna Jaskuła, Vice President of Rynek Polski Publishing House (Chapter Secretary), Jan Ledóchowski, financial consultant, Jan Macieja, Institute of Economics at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Janusz Steinhoff, independent economic expert (President of the Chapter), Adam Szejnfeld, Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Economy, Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, President of Rynek Polski Publishing House and Editor-in-Chief of POLISH MARKET and Dariusz Żak, President of Academic Incubators of Entrepreneurship.

In the past four years the winners of the Cent for Future competition have included: Armatura Kraków, Comarch, IVO Software, Katowicki Holding Węglowy, Kolporter Expo, Kompania Węglowa, LPP, Michelin Polska, Nutricia, Świętokrzyskie Centrum Innowacji I Transferu Technologii, Tele-Fonika Kable, Winkowski and Young Digital Poland.