Chapter 2: Czech Republic
(continued)
The presence of environmental companies from Canada, Italy, Poland and Switzerland is also noticeable but not as significant as those mentioned above. Firms from other countries (Spain, Republic of Ireland, Hungary, Japan) are known by a few interviewed parties. Their participation in environmental projects in the Czech Republic is limited.
Table 2.19, based on interviewee responses, presents perceptions of environmental technologies from major foreign suppliers. Some three quarters of respondents were not able to address the question on perceptions of foreign technologies, because their knowledge of the subject was superficial; therefore, a detailed table classifying individual countries is not presented in the report. The attitudes towards individual countries is further discussed below.
Germany, Austria, and other Western countries (Western Europe, the U.S., Canada and Japan) are regarded as producers of quality environmental technologies (although some experienced local customers do not always share this opinion). Generally, the presence of foreign firms is most significant in waste management. Foreign firms are also active in wastewater treatment, and, to a smaller degree, in air pollution control.
In waste management, Dutch, Austrian, German, and Danish technologies were ranked highly. Firms from these countries are active in solid waste salvage, and in landfill construction. Austrian firm Hoval is the biggest foreign supplier of incinerators. Scandinavian (e.g. Norsk Hydro) and Dutch firms are also active in waste incineration. The presence of Italian firms, once marketing their technologies aggressively, is now limited. Waste recycling technologies are mainly dominated by German firms.
Water and wastewater systems are introduced by a large number of foreign firms, including German, Austrian, French, Dutch, American, and British. It is difficult to determine the leader in this field, as the situation in the sector changes rapidly.
Energy and air pollution sectors are primarily dominated by German technologies, followed by Austrian and American products.
Respondents were not familiar with foreign suppliers in the noise and vibration sector.
The most important conclusion from evaluating perceptions of environmental technology suppliers is that, in fact, the country of origin of a given technology or supplier is not important. An overwhelming majority of the interviewed parties (practically all environmental businesses and R&D centers) commented that the country of origin is insignificant. Instead, the reputation of the company producing a technology itself is much more important. To that end, it is also necessary to note that Czech users of environmental technologies are generally skilled and technically qualified specialists, who often have had experience with a wide range of environmental technologies. If offered out-dated technology, or faced with problems with post-sale service, they have a range of other foreign competitors to negotiate with, regardless of the country of origin or the reputation of the company which made the original offer or sale.
Finally, Table 2.19 presents a good overview of the major foreign players in the market, but the significance of the ranking should not be overestimated. The presence and level of activity of foreign technology suppliers varies depending on environmental sector and the region of the country. One large and successful project in a specific environmental field may result in publicity to a specific technology or service provider at the expense of other competitors, thus distorting the overall picture. This, for instance, may have been the case with the Austrian firm A.S.A., which constructed a hazardous waste landfill in south Moravia, and won a tender for the construction of a Prague municipal landfill in 1993. The Danish firm Marius Pedersen was a similar case in eastern Bohemia, where it constructed and is operating landfills and organizing waste management on a wide scale.
| TABLE 2.19: PERCEPTIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES FROM MAJOR FOREIGN SUPPLIERS | |
|---|---|
| Sector | Country |
| Air | 1) Germany; 2) Austria; 3) US |
| Water and Wastewater | 1) Germany; 2) Austria; 3) UK |
| Waste | 1) Austria; 2) Denmark; 3) The Netherlands |
| Energy | 1) Germany; 2) Austria; 3) US |
| Noise, Vibration, and OHS | Not specified |
| Services | 1) Germany; 2) Austria; 3) The Netherlands |
| TABLE 2.20: THE LARGEST FOREIGN-OWNED COMPANIES IN THE MARKET | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sector | Name of the Company, City | Country of origin | Specialization |
| Air | Research-Cottrell Deutschland GmbH, Most | Germany | designers, air control equipment |
| BHA International GmbH, Ahlen | Germany | industrial filtration, emission control | |
| Water | ATE Praha, Praha | France | soil and groundwater clean-up |
| Prominent Dosiertechnik CS, s.r.o., Olomouc | Germany | pumps, lab apparatus | |
| Bayer s.r.o. | Germany | organic products and intermediate products for treatment of wastewaters with heavy metals | |
| Nijhuis Water Technology, Dinxperlo | The Netherlands | water and wastewater treatment | |
| Hydrotech, a.s., Bratislava | Slovakia | water and wastewater treatment | |
| Trige s.r.o., Liptovsky Mikulas | Slovakia | sludge filters, presses | |
| Severoceske vodovody a kanalizace, Teplice | UK | water supply and treatment | |
| Waste | A.S.A., Praha, Brno | Austria | waste management, disposal, salvage, separation |
| Hoval, Praha | Austria | waste incinerators | |
| Bijo s.r.o. | Czech/German | industrial and hazardous waste disposal, recycling | |
| Marius Pedersen a.s., Hradec Kralove | Denmark | waste salvage, disposal, separation | |
| Transform s.r.o., Pardubice | Germany | plastics recycling | |
| SSI Schafer-Schafer Menk a.r.o., Praha | Germany | production of waste containers | |
| REO-RWE Entsorgung s.r.o., Praha | Germany | waste management | |
| Rumpold s.r.o. Praha | Germany | collection, disposal, and export of waste, own landfill | |
| Rethmann Recycling s.r.o | Germany | collection and disposal of waste. | |
| Energy | Honeywell | US | energy supply |
| ABB Prvni brnenska, Brno | Sweden | environmental-friendly energy generation | |
| Services | Ramboll, Hannemann a Hojlund A/S, Virum | Denmark | design and consultancy in air protection, water and waste management |
| OST-Consult GmbH, Gera | Germany | environmental audits, EIA | |
| Note: The table includes both foreign companies active in the local market, and joint-ventures with local firms. | |||
Overall, the presence of foreign environmental technology suppliers is most significant in the field of waste management, with a significant number of companies also active in water supply systems. However, no individual firm dominates any sector of the market. Their market share is small - individual companies may have, at most, between 2 and 5 percent of the market.
Some large foreign companies have established Czech subsidiaries, and are very active in waste salvage and disposal practices. Some foreign firms have also established joint-stock companies with municipalities. The Danish firm Marius Pedersen, Austrian A.S.A., or many German firms may serve as good examples. British firms are active in water supply and wastewater treatment services in North Bohemia. Increased activity of French firms in the water supply and wastewater treatment sector has been observed recently, with companies setting up joint-ventures with municipalities.
In many environmental sectors, foreign companies do not have an established presence in the Czech Republic. Some foreign firms rather actively pursue direct sales (e.g. Austrian Hoval). The system of licensed technology sales is satisfactory and effective. Other notable cases include sales of environmentally-friendly fertilizers for agriculture, chemicals for wastewater treatment systems, tap water treatment systems, air filters, lab equipment etc.
Interestingly, in several cases, formerly foreign co-owned firms have been bought out by the local partner after two or three years of collaboration. In some cases, joint-ventures collapsed as a result of unsuccessful collaboration - either a local counterpart used foreign financial assistance and support excessively while returning very little, or the expectations of a foreign partner were too high and the local partner was not able to meet them.
Finally, it is important to stress again that foreign firms are most active in waste management and water-related sectors, but no single firm dominates the market.
