Top Estonian2008 Enterprises Entrepreneurship Award 2008 Competitiveness Ranking 2008 Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry www.nordecon.com Sky is the limit (OK, sometimes it’s the roof) Experts in construction and real estate development. Top Estonian Enterprises 2008 Entrepreneurship Award 2008 Competitiveness Ranking 2008 Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry TOP ESTONIAN ENTERPRISES 2008 Contents Entrepreneurship Award 2008 – summary 8 Estonian Companies’ Competitiveness Ranking 2008 - summary 9 Entrepreneurship Award 2008 – winners 10 Estonian Companies’ Competitiveness Ranking 2008 – winners 11 Entrepreneurship Award 2008 - methodology 13 Entrepreneurship Award 2008 - nominees and winners 14 The History of the Entrepreneurship Award 32 The History of the Estonian Companies’ Competitiveness Ranking 33 Estonian Companies’ Competitiveness Ranking 2008 - main chart 37 Estonian Companies’ Competitiveness Ranking 2008 - categories and winners 44 Swedbank’s Special Prize to the Most Successful Expander in the Baltics 94 Student Company 2008 95 European Enterprise Awards - "Recognise promoters of enterprise 2008" 96 “Financial Year 2007 - year of the cooling down of economy” 98 – Leev Kuum, Estonian Institute of Economic Research Enterprise Estonia 102 Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry 104 Estonian Employers’ Confederation 106 Review of the entrepreneurship contests’ ceremonial award-gala 2008 108 4 November 2008 TOP ESTONIAN ENTERPRISES 2008 Competitiveness to be made international! For the 13th year, the state is expressing recognition by nances, the number of exporting companies must in- awarding the Enterprise Award, and for the sixth time, we crease. Greater attention to be paid on innovations, wider are identifying the most competitive Estonian companies. use of Structural Funds for research and development ac- This way, we can have a chance to assess the performance tivities, constant increasing of the qualifications of em- of hundreds of companies. All participants, thank you! ployees, and development of the organisation – these are the keywords for every individual company as well as the Competition as an economic contest – the contest for bet- signatory business organisations. Cooperation between ter sales results, more loyal partners and talented employ- companies, associations and universities increases the op- ees is tougher on the Estonian market today than ever portunities for being successful on the international level. before. Instead of growth, we talk about the adaptation of In the recent years, the number of exporters has been in- the economy and look for ways to restore the fast growth. creasing by 300-400 companies a year. We hope that the International competitiveness has also made domestic poor conditions on the domestic market make a greater measuring important. proportion of companies look abroad in 2008 and 2009. According to the declarations of the Tax and Customs The products and services developed by us today must be Board for 2007, 17.5% of Estonian companies made cross- merchantable in Latvia, Scandinavia and even farther. We border transactions. Without further thinking, it can be must get to know markets and consumers and do it fast said that this is not enough! In order to perform the duties because competitors are not idly waiting for the spring, ei- that have flown into the economy in the form of debt fi- ther. Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ülari Alamets Toomas Luman Enn Veskimägi Chairman of the Board President President Enterprise Estonia Estonian Chamber of Estonian Employers´ Commerce and Industry Confederation November 2008 5 aripaev.ee 28.08.2008 In-flight magazine of Estonian Air “In Time” Magazine of Enterprise Estonia Autumn 2008 “Inseneeria” 3/2008 Export is the future of Estonian economy. ESTONIAN EXPORT DIRECTORY THE AIM OF THE ESTONIAN EXPORT DIRECTORY IS TO FACILITATE ESTABLISHING FOREIGN TRADE RELATIONS FOR ESTONIAN ENTERPRISES IN EUROPE AS WELL AS ALL OVER THE WORLD. Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry In January 2009 Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry will publish already for the fourteenth time Estonian Export Directory - a practical business catalogue on Estonian Exporters. The Estonian Export Directory presents more than 1300 Estonian exporting companies in alphabetical order and also by HS products and services classifi- cation. Additionally, you will find up-to-date overview about the constantly developing economic situation in Estonia, useful addresses and overview about the Estonian Companies’ Competitiveness Ranking in English, German and French. Estonian Export Directory in the web: www.estonianexport.ee Paper copy and CD of the Estonian Export Directory 2008 & 2009 are for free. Ordering now only delivery costs will be added. Estonian Export Directory is published with co-operation Infoatlas AS, phone: +372 626 6988. Ask the catalogue: Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Phone: +372 640 0060 • Fax: +372 640 0061 • E-mail: [email protected] • www.koda.ee TOP ESTONIAN ENTERPRISES 2008 Wishing strength to survive successfully in a world that is rapidly changing! The last year has been a year of major changes – both in the world changes in other areas. This structure has remained unchanged in most economy and in Estonia. The previous year, 2007, was very success- areas. With the economic structure Estonia has today, it is very diffi- ful for us, but the current year, 2008, signifies the end of one eco- cult – if not impossible – to be among the truly developed countries. nomic growth cycle and the beginning of renewal necessary for a new The structure of an economy is not something that can be changed growth cycle. overnight and by direct order. Changes must instead be the result of thorough and thoughtful long-term work, taking into account one’s It is very promising to be here today, among the most viable and suc- own and the entire world’s future needs. cessful entrepreneurs in the Estonian economy. Moreover, we have rea- son to celebrate today, because in a few moments, entrepreneurship It would certainly mean investments into education, research and de- prizes will be awarded to the best companies of last year. velopment. It might also mean a need for changes not only in invest- ments but also in general values. But besides joy, the current situation is overshadowed by uncertainty. East and West from us, stock markets are crumbling to such an extent Now is not the time for accusations or finger pointing, inter alia, only those who can remember more than a decade can recall. Finan- between politicians and entrepreneurs, who should really be each cial institutions that only recently were considered to be the founda- other’s partners in a democratic society. Accusations against one an- tions of a successful and functioning economic system are collapsing. other and the constant reminders of possible miscalculations do not move Estonia forward. But we have to keep moving. Pessimism, being In Estonia, we see difficulties with matching the revenue and expen- confused and looking for someone to blame would make us stop. That diture of the state budget, because the economic growth we have be- in turn would mean lost time and missed opportunities. We do not come accustomed to has slowed down. Our familiar logic behind the have any time to lose. drafting of the state budget, including the planning of revenue and ex- penditure, is significantly more difficult and causing more tension than How to move forward? Do not look back at the past, but open your during the last years of success. eyes and minds to new opportunities. These opportunities exist, one just has to know how to notice them and learn how to use them. It is During the past decade, the Estonian economy has sometimes had namely because of this that I am happy to see several innovative com- success that has been miraculous. Today, our feet are firmly on the panies among the nominees of today’s awards. I hope that those kinds ground again. The way things have turned out obliges us to ask two of enterprises are the winners of the main prizes. things: have we overlooked something or have we done something wrong? Or is all this just an inevitability? In conclusion I would like to wish all entrepreneurs strength to sur- vive successfully in a world that is rapidly changing, and which is per- Our success so far has to a great extent been a result of the advantages haps not in the most stable state at the moment. All of you are that were meant to disappear, such as very cheap labour force or low responsible for whether in ten years we can again talk about the Es- debt burden. Those were the advantages of a transitory economy as tonian economic miracle or not. compared to more mature economies; but in essence those advantages were temporary and they had to be used to their full extent. Regard- Address to the enterpreneurs on the awarding gala on September 18th, 2008 ing that, we have managed well. But the economic situation today – even without the problems of world economy – seems to be saying that passing one exam with flying colours does not put us among wealthy countries. There is more to be done in order to achieve that. The turning points in economy are difficult times, but they also con- tain opportunities for the future. Let us remember that the successful solutions to the economic problems of our Nordic neighbours at the beginning of the 90s were the basis for their success today. And in this case, it is not about economy in the narrow sense. Namely, the Nordic countries are one of the few countries in Europe today where social is- sues and labour market policies have also been successfully addressed and whose state budget is sustainable even in the conditions of an aging population. The basis for all that was nevertheless the productivity of those economies, which in turn was based on their innovativeness, good edu cation and advanced technology.