Kragujevac hosts First International South East Europe Automotive Suppliers Industry Trade Fair - General Motors and Volkswagen at SEE Auto Compo Net 2010 between May 19 and 21

(meeting of the representatives of the Regional Chamber of Commerce Kragujevac in the premises of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia)

- The first international South East Europe automotive suppliers industry trade fair SEE Auto Compo Net 2010, which will be held between May 19 and 21 in Kragujevac, represents the first step in realization of the vision of Western Balkans as an automotive region - Dušan Puača, the President of the Regional Chamber of Commerce Kragujevac, announced at yesterday's (May 5, 2010) press conference in the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia.

SEE Auto Compo Net 2010, which will be held at over 1,600 square meters of exhibition space in Šumadija Trade Fair, will gather about 100 exhibitors, including Volkswagen and General Motors.

- The trade fair, which is organized by the Western Balkans Automotive Industry Excellence Center within the Regional Chamber of Commerce Kragujevac and Šumadija Trade Fair, represents the beginning of realization of a local idea that is greatly recognized in Europe - Puača pointed out and added that the fair would gather not only manufacturers, but also suppliers, buyers and managers, as well as users of services in production, maintenance and servicing of automobiles and commercial vehicles.

- This will also be an opportunity for companies to find strategic partners in the spheres of finance, new knowledge or market expansion - said Puača.

The Vice-President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Stojan Jevtić, pointed to the necessity of inclusion of all companies and institutions that operate in the area of automotive industry with the aim of enhancing regional development and integration into global automotive industry. He underscored the significance of such manifestations and said that the Serbian Chamber of Commerce would finance organization of the event.

Predrag Lučić, the Director of the Agency for Investment Promotion and Business Support in Central Serbia, said that the trade fair represented a platform for integration of the automotive suppliers industry into the global automotive industry, as well as for improvement of the competitiveness of that sector.

The three-day manifestation will include the following activities: round table discussions, presentations, supplier development program, the Meet The Buyers event, etc. The exhibitors are automotive suppliers from Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the representatives of the institutions of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the Foreign Trade Chamber of Commerce of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Chamber of Commerce of Macedonia, GTZ, the automotive clusters of Slovenia, Macedonia and Serbia, and others.

According to the words of the Manager of the Support to Enterprise Competitiveness and Export Promotion (SECEP) project, Andrzej Schafernaker, the Meet the Buyers event will be a unique opportunity for local and regional automotive suppliers to present their product portfolios to multinational companies.

SEE Auto Compo Net 2010 is recognized as the central event in Serbia to promote the European SME Week whose aim is to promote entrepreneurship through organization of various events. During 2010, this pan-European promotional campaign will be held in May and June in 37 countries.

The patrons of this manifestation are the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Investment and Export Promotion Agency of Serbia (SIEPA), the City of Kragujevac and the Support to Enterprise Competitiveness and Export Promotion project (SECEP).