News from Greece

UNIPART presentation at Rio Hospital

On Friday 16th April 2012, the British Ambassador, Dr David Landsman OBE, and Head of UKTI Greece, Sotiris Leontaris, visited the Rio Hospital in Patras and attended a presentation by Unipart  on the reorganisation of hospitals’ processes. Unipart worked with the staff of the hospital for the last 5 weeks examining  procedures, cutting red-tape, reducing inventory and improving replenishment times for stock and medical supplies.

The British Ambassador mentioned during his short address that the ‘Unipart Way’ is a business philosophy that can improve productivity and reduce costs by engaging staff in the reorganisation process. Head nurses and doctors also spoke about how the new processes have freed up additional time for patient care and boosted morale, making employees feel that they can make a difference by taking part in decision-making.

A second phase is in the pipeline and the results will be presented to the Ministry of Health and managers of Greek state hospitals, in order to evaluate and decide on how these improvements can be implemented on a regional and nation-wide basis.

Dionysian delights at the English UK Fair, Athens 2012

The English UK Fair, Athens 2012 took place at The Westin Athens, Astir Palace Resort from Tuesday 6 to Friday 9 March 2012. The workshop was organised by English UK in partnership with and supported by the British Council, UK Trade & Investment and VisitBritain.

The fair brought together 30 English UK member centres and agents from Greece, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Georgia, Armenia, Romania, Cyprus, Croatia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia and the United Kingdom. Also attending the fair were representatives from the British Council in Greece and Cyprus.

The programme of social events, seminars, and one-to-one appointments in an elegant resort, with spectacular views of the Saronic Gulf, in the heart of the Athenian Riviera gave educators and agents the opportunity to really get to know each other and develop long-lasting productive partnerships.

Once all the hard work was over on the final day, delegates relaxed in style at the farewell gala dinner hosted at the British Ambassador's Residence. An historic monument in its own right, the Residence is one of the most elegant and best-preserved neo-classical mansions in central Athens.

Delegates were welcomed by Her Majesty's Ambassador himself, Dr David Landsman OBE, who spoke of the importance of English as an international language and the quality of a British education.

Read the full story and get more information on English UK here.

Recent Business Opportunities for UK companies

UK Trade & Investment Greece is participating in the exhibition Energy – Photovoltaic 2011 taking place until the 2nd of October 2011, at the Metropolitan Exhibition Center (El. Venizelos Airport) in Athens. Joining us are the UK companies Green Energy Options, Gaia Wind Ltd. and Geothermal International through their representatives Geoexchange.

It will be a great pleasure for us to welcome you to our stand, where we can inform you of our activities and discuss potential cooperation with British companies. You will find us in Hall 3, Booth A212.

Company Profiles

Geothermal International UK & WaterFurnace
Contact name: Mr. Christos Bousgolitis, Managing Director
Athens Office tel: +30 210 5221232, Fax: +30 210 5227084
Thessaloniki Office tel: +30 2310 518788, Fax: +30 2310 526761
Email: info@geoexchange.gr
Website: www.geoexchange.gr

Geoexchange – Ground Source Heat Pumps – Geothermal Energy. However you call this technology when you invest in a WaterFurnace system, you can be assured that you’re receiving the highest-quality, best-performing heating and cooling system available. Our best trained designers and installers are ready to install a WaterFurnace system for you in Greece.

Green Energy Options
Contact name: Mr. James Rankin, Head of Distributed Sales
Tel: +44 (0)1223 850 210
Fax: +44 (0)1223 850 211
Email: enquiries@greenenergyoptions.co.uk
Website: www.greenenergyoptions.co.uk

Founded in 2006, GEO is now a leading provider of in-home displays, mobile and on-line services for UK and international domestic energy markets. Our products and services are designed to engage users and thereby provide utilities with the ability to advance their relationship with their customers. We pride ourselves on combining the benefits of products and on-line services, which together deliver flexible, scalable solutions that are innovative and offer clear business value. In particular we can design, develop and support solutions for businesses that are looking to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market space. GEO has now entered the renewables market with its first colour, domestic, solar PV generation display.

Greece Pushes €1 Billion in Solar Projects

Greece, which pays Europe's highest premium for solar power, said it will fast-track three solar photovoltaic projects with a total investment of 1 billion Euros.

These projects include the 200-megawatt Kozani plant, to be developed by Public Power Corp. SA the country's biggest electricity producer, a 131-megawatt plant planned by Solar Cells Hellas Group and a 127-megawatt project by Silcio SA. Greece's relatively strong solar radiation and high price paid by utilities and consumers for power from the sun might turn the nation into Germany's rival as Europe's biggest solar market.

Read more (Source Bloomberg Businessweek)

Recent Tenders

Major developments at Greece's Public Power Corporation