Polish Business Award 2023

The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Vilnius and Polish Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce had the honour to invite to the "Polish Business Awards" ceremony, which was held on December 13th, 16:00 – 19:00, in the premises of the Embassy of Poland in Vilnius (Šv. Jono g. 3).
The ceremony created an opportunity to mark 2022 year's most significant developments in Polish-Lithuanian business relations and exchange experiences and plans for future projects.
At the event we also enjoyed a live music performance by Gabrielė Ždanavičiūtė, tasty food and Polish drinks.

1.  First nomination – Energy Investment of the Year

Gaz-System & Amber Grid, Gas Interconnector Poland Lithuania (GIPL)

AB Amber Grid

It is the main natural gas transmission operator in Lithuania. Amber Grid owns all main pipelines in Lithuania, including natural gas compressor stations and natural gas metering and distribution stations. The company strives for environment protection and innovation in its field of operation. In April 2022 the company, and in consequence Lithuania, has completely stopped purchasing the Russian gas and the transmission system has been operating without Russian gas imports since the beginning of April with no intention to receive the Russian gas for the future Lithuania needs.  Therefore, Lithuania became the first EU country to end imports of Russian gas following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. This way, the company has proven that it acts in an ethical way and is able to perform quickly and effectively in the face of an emergency. Amber Grid just in two years completed a significant strategic energy project Gas Interconnection Poland-Lithuania (GIPL).

GAZ-SYSTEM

GAZ-SYSTEM plays a strategic role in the Polish economy. The company is responsible for natural gas transmission, operates major gas pipelines in Poland and owns and manages  the President Lech Kaczyński LNG Terminal in Świnoujście. As part of the 2015-2025 investment programme, GAZ-SYSTEM is developing over 2000 km of new gas pipelines in western, southern and eastern parts of Poland. Almost 1000 km of that infrastructure was commissioned this year. Recently the company completed the most important infrastructural project in Poland – the Baltic Pipe. The project comprised the construction of a bidirectional offshore gas pipeline connecting Poland and Denmark as well as the expansion of the local transmission network and three gas compressor stations. The construction of gas interconnector with Lithuania and Slovakia was also finalised. Presently, the engineering of onshore gas pipelines that will connect the planned FSRU terminal in the Gulf of Gdańsk with the national transmission system  is underway. The LNG Terminal in Świnoujście is also being expanded to  increase its regasification capacity by more than half.

About GIPL

GAZ-SYSTEM and Amber Grid undertook a joint investment – a cross-border pipeline GIPL, of a total length of 508 km, which enabled natural gas transmission between Poland and Lithuania. It was launched in May 2022 by the presidents of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.  The initiative was achieved  with the assistance of the European Union and we would like to thank the UE energy commissioner Kadri Simson for her involvement and support. The project remarkably contributes to diversification of gas supplies  to our countries, and consequently to the process of gaining energetic independence from Russian resources. It also strengthens integration of European gas distribution/transmission system and increases energy security of the region. Not only is this investment significant in economic terms, but it also supports energy transformation by replacing solid fuels with gaseous fuel. We perceive GIPL as a meaningful joint success – both for the companies which participated in its construction, and for our countries.

The award was received by the Chief Executive Officer of Amber Grid Nemunas Biknius and by the Chief Executive Officer of GAZ-System Marcin Chludziński.

 2.    Second Nomination –  Investment of the Year on the Lithuanian IT Market

VERCOM

Vercom develops global cloud communications platforms (CPaaS) that empower companies to build and grow lasting relationships with their audiences across multiple communication channels including sms, email, push and through instant messaging. Solutions offered by Vercom enable companies to automate and scale communication processes, while maintaining high deliverability and efficiency - all in a secure and reliable manner. Vercom serves more than 60,000 customers in 180 markets, including entities such as Allegro, OLX, DHL, Rossmann, InPost and IKEA as well as thousands of small and medium-sized customers. Vercom has about 300 employees who operate in 30 locations around the world including San Francisco, New York, Berlin, Prague, Poznan and Warsaw.

In June 2022 Vercom has finalized the acquisition of MailerLite, a Lithuania-based global provider of email marketing tools, recognized by Forbes magazine as one of the top three solutions of its kind in the world. The acquisition not only enabled Vercom to significantly increase the international footprint, but also initiated a two-way technology exchange with the intention to develop new services aimed at a wide range of customers and drive further increase of the scale of operations. The international expansion is the best proof that companies from our region are capable of great achievements in the IT industry.  The deal was valued at approximately PLN 340 million, making the acquisition of MailerLite one of the largest deals made by a Polish technology company in the recent years. As a result of the merger, Vercom confirms its ambitions to become one of the global CPaaS market players.

 The award was received by the founder and Chief Executive Officer of VERCOM Krzysztof Szyszka from H.E. Ambassador U. Doroszewska & Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė.

 3.    Third nomination – Debut on the Lithuanian Market of the Year

OMIS

OMIS has been present on the construction and industrial market since 1999. Its scope of services is varied and includes construction of industrial and technological facilities, combined heat and power (CHP) plants and low-power heating plants based on conventional or alternative fuels and manufacturing of steel structures and industrial equipment. OMIS is run by experts in the field, with many years of experience, who provide services of the highest quality to their clients. The key to its success is a well-integrated team that has been working together for decades. In 2022, OMIS has become the General Contractor of the biofuel preparation and feeding system in the thermal and power plant in Vilnius. Already this year, the project is going into full construction mode, where it will be managed by approximately 10 prime contractors and twice as many subcontractors. This way, the company courageously entered Lithuanian market.  The project is not only of great importance to the company, but also to whole Lithuania. The heat and power plant will be one of the most modern power plants of this type in Europe.

The award was received by the Deputy Project Director of OMIS Kamil Gadomski - from H.E. Ambassador U. Doroszewska & Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė

 4.   Fourth Nomination - Debut on the Polish Market of the Year

Elgama-Elektronika

Engineering company Elgama-Elektronika has been present on Lithuanian market for 30 years. This Vilnius-based manufacturer specialises in development and production of smart electricity meters and solutions for Advanced Metering Infrastructure. Due to challenging market trends, the company established R&D subdivision in Kaunas and engages around 20% of its workers in product development. Thanks to ambitious and responsible way of doing business, Elgama-Elektronika is constantly growing as an enterprise.

It has signed a contract worth 108 million zlotys, or almost 23 million euros, to supply smart meters to Stoen, a Polish company with 1.2 million customers that is modernizing the neighbouring country's electricity grid. Manufacturer plans to fulfil the entire order by mid-2023. The project will give the company a better chance to participate in and win more similar tenders across Europe. The company strives for becoming one of the three top electricity meter suppliers in Europe. We hope that it will achieve this goal and will be entrusted with many interesting and ambitious projects in the future.

The award was received by the General Director of Elgama-Elektronika Martynas Čereška.

All award were received from H.E. Ambassador U. Doroszewska & Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė