6 KPS 11 LET‘S TALK BUSINESS NewS – euroPe Book now at www.erpec.com for ‘Early Bird’ prices Hotel Rey Juan Carlos, Business & City Resort Barcelona, 10 – 12 May 2011
Hellenic Petroleum receives support from eI bank The European Investment Bank has provided a total of 400 million euros to Hellenic Petroleum SA, for increased production of cleaner fuels through upgrading the Elefsina refinery. At the signing ceremony in Athens, EIB Vice-President Plutarchos Sakellaris said: “We provide this financing to benefit both development and environment in Greece, in our capacity as the European Union’s bank. In order to counteract the impact of the crisis on the Greek and European economies, we are increasing significantly our lending. Loans for cleaner energy form an integral and important part of our extended offering. This underlines once again the key role that entrepreneurial activity plays in strengthening the structural competitiveness of the European economy. There is no doubt that this investment acts as a vital link in the innovation chain, creating employment and raising the level of job qualifications, while reducing fuel imports. This productive investment improves atmospheric conditions through state-of-the-art refining technology and increasing cleaner fuel production. We Service stations on highways in Cyprus! The government of Cyprus is looking into the prospect of creating service stations along the length of the main highway. In a letter of response to Environmental Commissioner Charalambos Theopemptou, the ministry said it was examining the possibility of building stations with toilets, resting areas, restaurants and petrol stations. As a preliminary measure, the aim is to create toilets in current weighing stations until tender procedures can be launched for private developers to build proper service stations, like those in the rest of Europe. Earlier this month a letter was sent to the ministry saying there had been complaints by tourists, who rent cars and are shocked to find there are no resting areas to use the toilet or fill up on petrol. In some cases, service station signs on the highway actually lead to private restaurants or cafeterias. The lack of proper resting areas is also a problem for professional drivers, who are often on the roads for hours on end. oPw achieves ISo certi - fication in Czech rep Shell improves business intelligence with SaP Shell has implemented a new analysis and reporting platform for its global operation. As reported, Shell has gone live with a set of SAP Business Objects Business Intelligence tools which are already used by 3 500 employees. Implementation partner is Accenture. By September, the new platform is planned to have are pleased to have Hellenic Petroleum, one of the most important players in SE Europe as a partner in this effort.” Mr. Tassos Giannitsis, Hellenic Petroleum’s Chairman commented: “We are very pleased to be partners with the European Investment Bank in the cornerstone of our investment program, the upgrade of our Elefsina refinery. This 1.2 billion euros investment, the largest industrial investment ever in Greece improves competitiveness, creates new employment, produces better and environmentally friendlier products, reduces imports and increases exports and importantly improves the environmental performance of the refinery by substantially reducing all emissions. Project implementation is on track with completion expected in the second half of next year. In very difficult times for our country, Hellenic Petroleum is committed to implementing its strategy for growth and competitiveness which involves a major investment program of over 2 billion euros in 2009-11 focused on our refining and marketing businesses and a major performance improvement initiative.” OPW Fueling Components EMEA has achieve ISO 14001:2004 certification for expanded Czech Republic manufacturing plant. Formerly known as OPW Fueling Components Europe, the company has announced it has achieved ISO 14001:2004 certification for its manufacturing plant in the Czech Republic, while also having its ISO 9001:2008 certificate renewed. ISO 14001:2004 is awarded to companies that meet ISO-established guidelines for energymanagement systems at their plants. To achieve ISO 14001:2001 certification, OPW had to present to ISO a framework for a holistic, strategic approach to environmental policy, plans and actions as they would apply to the Czech Republic facility. OPW also had to show a commitment to comply with applicable environmental legislation and regulations, along with making a commitment to continual improvement in its energy systems at the Klasterec plant. a total of 6 500 users. Shell wants to get rid of reports delivered in Excel and PowerPoint completely and standardise its data deployment globally. The mineral oil company uses the Business Objects applications Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence, Xcelsius Enterprise on the base of SAP’s middleware Netweaver. LateSt NewS, eveNtS, JobS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLaza.CoM NewS – euroPe Greece taken to court The European Commission decided, on 5 May, to refer Greece to the EU Court of Justice over its rules restricting the establishment of petrol stations. Greek legislation prohibits the establishment of petrol stations near certain public places, such as shops or residences, while allowing it near others, such as offices and hotels, thereby limiting competition and choice for consumers. It imposes minimum distances between a new petrol station and an existing one, therefore limiting the entry of new operators. The authorisation procedure for petrol stations requires the applicant to provide a fire certificate that can be issued only by ‘certified’ Greek expert engineers. The Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Greece, in June 2009, asking it to comply with EU law. As no satisfactory reply was received, the executive has decided to take the case to the court. Petrotec wins ‘best Innovation award’ World leader in digital security, Gemalto is a business partner of Petrotec, offering solutions designed to make personal interactions more convenient, secure and enjoyable. Its portfolio ranges from the development of POS Terminals and software applications to the design and production of secure personal devices such as smart cards, SIM Cards, e-passports and tokens. Says Petrotec, a key reason for winning the award was the incorporation of the Gemalto Magic³X-8 terminal, as an integral part of Petrotec Microsys, a management solution for petrol stations. Microsys is the first fully integrated global system which allows the management of IFSF fuel dispensing pumps and EMV / PCI payment methods, housed in a single terminal that fits in the hand of the operator. A solution that drew fulsome praise in Carte 2009, the largest showcase of technology held in France, in late 2009. The new generation of Magic³ POS terminals was also honoured as the choice of the largest Portuguese bank for a recent contract to supply about 3 000 units. waitrose in bahrain UK supermarket group, Waitrose has announced it will be opening a new store in Bahrain after it saw strong sales at its first Middle East venture in Dubai. The food store, which is part of the John Lewis Partnership, said it saw an increase of 60 percent in sales on last year at its two Dubai branches, which opened in 2008. 7