Project “Azubi-Europa“ Croatia

31.03.2014 - 11.04.2014

by Stephanie Hoffmann Trainee as industrial

management assistantat Unilever Werk Pratau GmbH

und Co. OHG

STRUCTURE1. About the Project

2. About Us - Unilever

3. Croatia - Zagreb

3.1 General Facts

3.2 RWE – The Energy to Lead

3.3 AHK German-Croatian Chamber of Commerce

3.4 Vocational School for Administration

3.5 City Rallye through Zagreb

3.6 HAMAG Invest

3.7 Medical Intertrade

3.8 Nestlé Adriatic d.o.o.

4. Croatia – Split

4.1 General Facts

4.2 Chamber of Commerce Split

4.3 University of Split

4.4 Croatian Employers´Association

4.5 City Rallye through Split

5. Project Work

6. My Conclusion

7. Sources

1. ABOUT THE PROJECT AND MY EXPECTATIONS

The project Azubi-Europa is organized by the ISW company for academic advice and service cooperation and funded by the European Social Fund and the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. Project participants have the chance to visit foreign countries and resident companies. So the trainees learn something about the MEE countries and about possibilities of international relationships and trade.

In general, I expect to learn more about Croatia, it´s people and culture, as well as about their economic affairs.

2. UNILEVER FACTORY PRATAU

PRODUKTIONS GMBH & CO. OHG

FACTORY PRATAU

… is located in Pratau near the historic old town of Lutherstadt Wittenberg where Martin Luther nailed his 99 theses at the gates of the castle church in 1517.

•Founded In: 1903

•Products: Margarine

•Production Volume: 130.000 tons

•SKUs (Stock Keeping Units): 70

•Employees: 240 (182 factory,

58 distribution center)

•20 trainees in 6 occupations

•2010 to 2012 about 21 Mil. € investment

PRODUCTS FROM PRATAU

Germany

Austria

Switzerland

OUR BRANDS IN DACH

CREATE A BETTER FUTURE EVERY DAY

Unilever is one of the world's leading consumer goods companies. Our goal is to offer people around the world products that are good for them and for others.

Two billion people from over 190 countries use a Unilever product every day.

FACTS

€ 1 BIL. INVESTS IN R&D

190COUNTRIES IN WHICH OUR PRODUCTS ARE SOLDTURNOVER

€ 51 BIL. END OF THE YEAR

2012 EMPLOYEES END OF 2012

173,000

UNILEVER TURNOVER IN EMERGING COUNTRIES

55%

2 BIL. COSTUMERS USE AN UNILEVER PRODUCT EVERY DAY

3.CROATIA - ZAGREB

3.1 General facts of Croatia• Capital City: Zagreb• Area: 56.500 km² • Inhabitants: ca. 4,5 million• Form of Government: parliamentary republic• Currency: croatian kuna • Exchange Rate: 1 EUR = 7,631 HRK

1 HRK = 0,131 EUR• Independent Since: 25th of June 1991• Yugoslavian War of

Independence: from 1991 to 1995

• Became the 28th member of the European Union on the 1st of June, 2013

March 2014

ECONOMIC FACTS

The war in Croatia caused a massive change in the country.Many people left the country, the families got smaller.The average age in Croatia is about 42 years . Thus, Croatia is one of the oldest nations in the EU.

Since the crash on the New York Stock Exchange in 2008 , the economic situation is bad. In 2009 the GDP real growth rate decreased to -6.9%. Since 5 years, Croatia is in recession, so the inflation rate is very low.Today we speak about an unemployment rate of about 20.3% in Croatia and the next few years leave no hope for improvement . In comparison to this the rate was just 13.2% in 2008. Also people who are work very hard, live on subsistence level .Croatia has a tax rate of 25% and tax on salaries of up to 40 % without social insurance taxed. Thus, you have to pay a total tax of about 70%.

Another problem is that more and more people don´t go to the polls. The European elections were visited by 25 % only.

In Croatia the tourism sector is the strongest.

3.2

Our first appointment took place at RWE Hrvatska. Ingo Block, Head of PR, Communication and Public Affairs, gave us a presentation with interesting facts about the company. In August 2007, the waste water treatment plant was put into operation stepwise. This system clears the entire sewage of the city and the region. Through this about 1,2 million inhabitants are supplied with electricity, gas, and water. The operating company employs about 200 workers in Croatia. The RWE Group has approximately 70,000 employees worldwide and around 2,350 trainees, who are trained at 60 locations.

Here you can see the wastewater treatment plant, operating terrain of RWE Hrvatska in Zagreb

3.3 The bilateral relations between Germany and Croatia were expanded in recent years. Since its founding on the 30th of October in 2003, the German Croatian Chamber of Commerce has been the first point of contact for German and Croatian companies. With 350 members it is the largest economic organization in the country. The managing director is Gunther Neubert. The German Croatian Chamber of Commerce has got 12 employees. Services of them are, for example, market and sales consulting, Office-in-Office solutions, or exhibition services.

In the picture on the right, you can see the group that I was travelling with. In the picture above, you can see the sign of the AHK.

3.4 VOCATIONAL SCHOOL FOR ADMINISTRATION

The next stop on our trip was the vocational school of administration and modern design. We learned some general facts about this school from the school principal. Some pupils gave us a little view of the work they do there. A few days later, we visited this school again. We had an appointment with a German class. They introduced their school system to us, through a presentation.

In the end, we held a presentation about the dual system of vocational training in Germany. The students there had many questions and listened, interested to what we said. After that, we had time to speak with the pupils and were able to exchange information. All things considered, I can say that it was a very interesting day, with many new insights.

Recording prerequisite for vocational training is completed in 7th-8th grade. The teaching units are a combination of basic education (history, biology, etc. ...) and general professional training. The practical training in enterprises is usually limited to the summer months (in form of internships) The training company is often decided by the vocational school (co-operation agreements between schools and companies). The student is paid little to no money for their work in the training company.

In Croatia, there is no dual vocational training system as in Germany - however, it is desirable. The training takes place in vocational high schools, which are constructed to be subject-specific and free. There are age restrictions in the vocational and high schools (14-20 years at initial training; after 24 years, school attendance is chargeable).

Here you can see some pictures of our day in the vocational school of management and modern design ...

3.5 “CITY RALLYE“ THROUGH ZAGREBOn one day, our task was to answer some questions which were given to us.So, we had to find different sights of Zagreb and discover some interesting facts about them.We went to various places, where we saw many beautiful sites of Zagreb. For example, we saw the Kaptol of the holy virgin Mary. It demonstrates the architectural style change over the centuries, because almost all styles are represented in it.

Subsequently you´re about to see some pictures of the “Zagreb-Rallye“.

3.6

We learned that it is the Croatian Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and investment, which was founded in 1994 by the Government of the Republic of Croatia. The aim is to support SME development and promote investment. This agency is an independent institution, under the supervision of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Crafts.

Their main activities are: • Investment Promotion

• Issuance of guarantees for bank loans to SMEs • Promotional campaigns • Co-financing of consulting services

Here you can see our group in front of the HAMAG Invest department

3.7

Medical Intertrade is a limited liability company for foreign trade, wholesale, and retail trade in non-alimentary products.

Medical Intertrade is engaged in trade of medicinal products and medical devices authorized for marketing in Croatia. We visited the warehouse where the products are stored.

Their products include dietetic products, baby food, cosmetics, personal hygiene products, packaging, and chemicals. Their customers are pharmacies, hospitals, wholesalers, health centres, doctors' practices, drugstores, specialised shops, etc.

Here we were in an office of Medical Intertrade

3.8

Nestlé was one of the most interesting companies we visited because I´m from the same industry and it is one of the biggest competitors of Unilever. So, it was exciting to find out more about this company.Nestle was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestlé, who had patented milk. Nestlé produces over 8,000 Brands.

The company was established in Croatia in 2003.

Nestlé is also noted by its sales figures, which show that the gap between rich and poor is widening.

The current premium product is the Dolce Gusto coffee machine (five regular cups of coffee are cheaper than a cup of Dolce Gusto)

Trend setters in Croatia are, for example, the German discount stores Lidl and Kaufland. These have an 8 percent market share. In Croatia, "Konzum“, which is one of the largest discount stores, dominates with 30% of the market share. The branded products of these retailers are growing. This leads to a disadvantage for leading big business such as Nestlé. Nestle, in Croatia, can only import goods

from Europe. Throughout Croatia, there are only 10 trainees at Nestle. The average age there is about 32 years. The dual-training system, as we know it in Germany, does not exist at Nestle. You only can get an internship as an student of a University.The intern passes through the various departments. After two years, it will be decided whether and for which department they are suitable. From that time, they get normal salary.

ALL AT A GLANCE

Headquarters : Switzerland Second Seat of

Nestlé Adriatic d.o.o. : Belgrad Employees Worldwide: 330,000 Communication : 37 Webpages

40 Facebook Profiles Most Important Markets: Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia Factories Worldwide : 500 Brands / Products : 8,000 Brands /

10,000Products Production Costs : 0,75 ct ( e.g. a capsule- Dolce

Gusto)

Everyday 1 BIL. Products get sold worldwide

4. CROATIA - SPLIT

4.1 General facts of Split

• Area: 79,33 km²• Inhabitants: 178,102 (2011)

• Population Density: 2,245 per km²• Exportmarkets : Slovenia, Italia, Turkey• Investments : 474,61 Mil. Euro Export

674,68 Mil. Euro Import

4.2 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SPLIT HGK

The Split County Chamber is a local organization of businesses and companies in Split with the intention to develop and further the interests of local companies and businesses in Croatia. We´ve learned that the members of a Chamber of Commerce are usually international and local operating companies, such as lawyers, property developers, tourism companies, airlines, manufacturing companies, import and export businesses, banks, finance companies, legal advisors, IT and electronics manufacturers etc. It was a very interesting appointment with lots of new information.

Main activities of the chamber are: among others, safeguarding business interests and sharing business experiences and business interests, as well as contact with governments, civil society, local media and the press and organizing trade shows and events.

4.3

This University was founded in 1974 as a public University. There are many different departments of study for example: Mechanical Engineering, Information Technology, Electrical Engineering, Finance and Accounting, and Business trade.The Study Programme consists of three Units (Mathematics, Physics, Ethics) and six undergrade Units.There are 72 College professors and 22,000 Students, of which half are part-time students.This University is the second biggest in Croatia.That day we had to present a lecture of the dual system of vocational training in Germany. After that we had time to speak to students and some professors to exchange information. It was very informative and interesting.

4.4 CROATIAN EMPLOYERS´ASSOCIATION

The Croatian Employers' Association (CEA) was established in 1993 as a voluntary, non-profit and independent employers' association that represents, promotes and advocates for the interests of its members. The CEA was created by a group of respective Croatian entrepreneurs who recognized the potential of joint action and the importance of the employers’ association.

4.5 CITY RALLYE THROUGH SPLIT The task for this Rallye was to arrange a sightseeing tour through Split, for our coach Ms. Kaufhold.Therefore, we had to search for information about the sights before. We started to walk from sight to sight and presented our collected information.We had a great time. After that we went to a restaurant to eat something.It was a beautiful, last shared day.

Here you can see pictures of our group and of Split

5. PROJECT WORK

On three days of the second week, we had to work on our presentations or we had units to work with business English. We had the opportunity to listen to some presentations. We learned a lot about culture and people of Croatia. It was very interesting to get more new impressions. At the end we had to prove our newly-acquired knowledge. It was a fascinating time and it was quite thrilling, to speak with foreign people.

6. MY CONCLUSION

In summary, I can say that the project is a great thing.

It's not just that you can study English, but also can get a personal

impression of an foreign country. Before I left for this trip, I went

with completely different expectations of the country into the

project.

The project helped me to get a picture of the people, the culture and

the beautiful surroundings. I take a lot of new and useful

experiences with me back home!

I am glad to have taken part in this project.

Thats me in an office of Nestlé

7. SOURCES

all facts written in this presentation are self determined

main source for images was the “Azubi-Europa DVD“ and my own taken pictures

other sources: (18.04.2014)

- www.google.de- http://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/member-c

ountries/croatia/index_de.htm- http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/DE/Aussenpol

itik/Laender/Laenderinfos/01-Nodes_Uebersichtsseiten/Kroatien_node.html

- www.wikipedia.de- http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kroatien- www.laenderdaten.info

Zagreb

Split

Thank you for your attention