JÄMTLAND. Invest in tourism Mountains of opportunities. A new way of life. Big house and hens in the garden. Wind Power expansions

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1 Busiess ad Life JÄMTLAND Härjedale Mid Swede Ivest i tourism Moutais of opportuities A ew way of life Big house ad hes i the garde Wid Power expasios A emergig market They moved the factory It was easy Capital of witer sports World leadig research

2 Successful i forestry busiess. Ivo Krsek came to Jämtlad for a holiday job i the forest. Three years later he rus 14 a compay with 60 employees ad a turover of SEK 12 millio. Cotets: Ivestig i a vibrat ski resort. Two busiess leaders share a commo visio of the future i Vemdale. Together they are makig large ivestmets 6 to create the right atmosphere for the tourists. Skillful doctors wated. Are you a detist, doctor or specialist urse? The you have a great opportuity to fid a stimulatig job i Jämtlad 17 Couty. I case of emergecy call for the helicopter! Maager after just oe year. Tactics ad ambitios led Melaie to a job as a urse. After oe year she became head of operatios at her 18 workplace. The ewly started horse busiess has to wait. Witer sport busiess. Östersud offers a world class ski stadium ad a research cetre for witer sports. A Swedish elite skier has made a busiess 20 out of the excellet traiig coditios i Östersud. Welcome to us Couty Goveror Britt Bohli, Couty Admiistrative Board of Jämtlad Couty: It is easy to fall i love with Jämtlad. Oe reaso is the ever preset ature with forests, lakes ad moutais. Witers with lots of sow are aother reaso. A third reaso, ad perhaps the most importat oe, is the close liks betwee the people livig here. I Jämtlad it does ot take log to make lastig cotacts ad friedships. The people i Jämtlad ad Härjedale have for log had busiess dealigs far across the borders of both the couty ad the coutry. These days, may of the compaies i the couty are active i the iteratioal markets. There is a strog etrepreeurial spirit i Jämtlad. Statistics show that there are a large umber of busiess start-ups ad that the proportio of small busiesses is the secod-highest i Swede. Excellet air ad rail coectios to Stockholm Arlada make it easy to travel to the rest of the coutry ad abroad. Travellig to Stockholm ad back i a day is ot a problem. Ad of course it is just as easy to travel i the other directio to Östersud ad Jämtlad. The magazie you are holdig i your hads provides stories about life ad busiess ideas i Jämtlad. Allow you to be ispired ad be assured of a warm welcome! The Couty Admiistrative Board is a govermet body tasked with lookig after ad developig the regio. Barry Smith, Plat Maager at Wipro Our operatio i Östersud is old, ad yet ew. Old, because it was set up more tha 50 years ago as a result of the wealth of ivetio ad etrepreeurial spirit foud i Jämtlad. New, because our compay has, sice 2006, bee part of Wipro, a large global group, with all the expectatios ad challeges this etails. What will happe ow? was a questio may were askig at the time of the takeover. We got our aswer straightaway. The group maagemet recogised the potetial here i Östersud ad decided to ivest heavily i developig the operatio. They could see a favourable level of costs, a good recruitmet base for the future ad a skilled workforce. A compay does ot grow by itself. I order to succeed it eeds people with drive ad commitmet, ad we have that here. To combie work with proximity to uspoilt ature ad a high quality of life is oe of the best thigs about the couty of Jämtlad. These excellet coditios have already resulted i may people ad compaies movig here, but there is always room for more. We welcome you to Jämtlad! Wipro is a compay i Östersud which maufactures hydraulic cyliders. Sice 2006 it has bee part of large Idia group. Sepideh Razavi, iteratioal master studet People ofte ask me why I chose to come to Jämtlad. For me, the aswer is simple. After four years livig i this couty I feel more at home tha i my birth coutry, Ira. I came to Östersud to study a Iteratioal Masters Programme i Sustaiable Developmet at Mid Swede Uiversity, but what I achieved was much more tha just studyig a subject. From the day I came here, it has bee a cotiuous process of self-improvemet for me. Access to edless ad various sources of iformatio, a free educatioal system, uique public access to ature, freedom of speech ad the feelig of respect regardless of cultural or religious backgroud are just some of the beefits for everyoe to ejoy here. It is easy to feel welcome i Jämtlad. Where else i the world do you fid the professor waitig at the railway statio, ready to order a taxi ad guide the ew studets to their studet accommodatio? This is Jämtlad as I kow it. I feel a great desire to do somethig for Jämtlad i retur. Mid Swede Uiversity is Swede s ewest uiversity with campuses i three locatios ad aroud 16,000 studets. Aa ad Joha Olsso, Olympic cross-coutry skiig gold medallists: I Jämtlad it is easy to love skiig. While our home tow of Östersud is still a riot of autum colours, you ca see the first October sows gleamig white o the moutais just 100 km away. Soo witer will be here! Although oe of us is still travellig aroud the world all year log i order to trai ad compete i cross-coutry skiig, we also take every opportuity to ski back home. We put some food i the backpack, strap o the moutai tobogga ad set off o our skis i the beautiful ad accessible coutryside. The ski culture ad the great witers here i Jämtlad have had cosiderable ifluece o our successes as elite skiers. The very same coditios also create edless opportuities for etrepreeurs with a kee iterest i skiig. We welcome you to our witer paradise. Aa wo Olympic gold i the sprit relay i Turi i Joha wo gold i the relay ad two idividual broze medals at the Witer Olympics i Vacouver i Jämtlad Couty i facts ad figures. The most importat facts about idustry ad eterprise, labour market, ifrastructure, uiversity, specialities 21 ad of course the fatastic ature i Jämtlad Couty. Published by: Midscad Ivest i the couty of Jämtlad, part of Mid Swede Chamber of Commerce, ifo@midscad.com, Productio: Aders Eiarsso, Säljstyrka AB, Text: Mi Edvisso. Photos: Cover: Herik Trygg. Imagebak.swede.se Fredrik Broma, Jessica Lidgre, Niklas Ström, Staffa Widstrad, Mikko Nikkie, Tukka Ervasti, Tia Stafré, Cecilia Larsso. City of Östersud Sverker Berggre, Roger Stradberg. Åre muicipality Magus Dahli. Other photos Mi Edvisso, Cecilia Kreuzberger, Tommy Adersso, Tia Stafré, Peter Kore, Håka Eriksso, Göra Strad, Storsjöyra, H1 Commuicatio, Skistar Vemdale, Vidkraftcetrum, Jamtli. Maps Gustav Kro 2 Busiess & Life i Mid Swede Jämtlad Härjedale 3

3 stersud a world class city 2 Witer sports ad first-class artisa foods have helped put Östersud o the world map. Big evets together with small tow charm ad the opportuity for leisure time pursuits i close proximity to the city have made the capital of Jämtlad the obvious choice for may people. Östersud is a small city, but well-kow iteratioally i may differet cotexts. Assurace of sow ad a world class ski stadium made it possible for Östersud to hold the Biathlo World Champioships i Biathlo World Cup competitios are held here every year. The Mid Swede Uiversity also has oe of the best witer sports test laboratories i the world. Eve the local artisa foods are of world class stadard. Cofirmatio of this comes from UNESCO, which has desigated Östersud Creative City of Gastroomy. I the couty of Jämtlad the skilful food producers are surrouded by ature s larder. Upolluted forests ad lakes are a source of exceptioal igrediets, which are processed at farms ad sold via farm shops, restaurats ad ordiary grocery stores. Östersud is a city of may evets, ot all of them sportsrelated. Every year the city holds the music festival Storsjöyra, which attracts some of the global stars of popular music. Aother aual evet is the Witer Festival, whe the residets of Östersud brave sow ad cold weather to ejoy light shows, fire shows, music ad etertaimet o the streets of the city. Above all, though, Östersud is a witer city. Above the residetial areas the lit-up ski slopes await ight-time skiers, while dow at Lake Storsjö there are miles ad miles of ice skatig tracks for woderful skatig i the sprig-time sushie. The ice skatig tracks here are listed amog the te best atural ice skatig tracks i the world, ad they are guarateed to be the oly oes with a moutai view. 3 4 Pictures from ad aroud Östersud: 1. Norther Lights is a amazig pheomeo which sometimes ca be see i the witer ights. 2. Skatig o Lake Storsjö is for everybody to ejoy, icludig parets with a pram. 3. Ski slopes i the middle of the city are a perfect alterative for urba people. The view shows the cetre of Östersud. 4. The famous Christmas Market at the Jamtli museum. Here you ca buy traditioal hadcraft ad local food or just ejoy the sceario ad the great Christmas spirit. 5. The talet food producers i Jämtlad are always close to ature s larder. So are the cows ad goats. The cheeses from this regio are famous for its taste ad quality. 6. I Jämtlad there are several Sami villages. Traditioal Sami hadcraft ad arts is beautiful. 7. Saps based o birch sap. There is also a exclusive sparklig wie of the same kid. Its Swedish ame meas just sap. 8. Storsjöyra, a great music festival with may world famous stars, is held i Östersud every summer. The square is crowded! Busiess & Life i Mid Swede Jämtlad Härjedale 5 8

4 Ivest i: Tourism Side by side towards a vibrat ski resort Two ethusiastic busiess leaders share a commo visio. Together they are ivestig millios of Swedish kroor i Vemdale ski destiatio. The aim is to provide future visitors to the ski resort with a excellet rage of restaurats, etertaimet ad shoppig i a very pleasat eviromet. Vemdale is for the most part a witer destiatio ad is situated o the border betwee Härjedale ad Berg muicipalities i Jämtlad Couty. It has grow over the years ad today comprises three ski areas i close proximity to each other. Oe of them is Vemdalsskalet. Whe the large compay Skistar took over resposibility for the ski operatios ad bookig system i 2000, it sigalled the start of extesive ivestmet ad developmet i the resort. I a short period of time ew, moder ski lifts were built. The ski areas grew ad the sow systems icreased their capacity substatially. The chages boosted iterest ad the umber of bed places i the area icreased by 3,500. Today there are a total of 16,000 bed places for leisure use, 6,000 of which are i commercial accommodatio. I the last te years early SEK 1 billio has bee ivested i raisig the profile of the destiatio. Skistar ad the family compay Vemdalsfastigheter are the two largest ivestors i the Vemdalsskalet ski area. Side by side they are workig to realise a commo visio: a pleasat ad urba eviromet with services, restaurats ad small cosy boutiques which are able to attract both tourists ad local residets. Vemdalsskalet is already a good product, owig to the certaity of sow, the versatile terrai ad the proximity to the Swedish market, but from a future perspective this is ot eough, just as it is ot eough to offer a sady beach i Turkey. People wat to do may differet thigs while o holiday, says Torgy Svesso, head of Skistar s operatios i Vemdale. Vemdalsfastigheter, which primarily maages ad leases busiess premises, has ivested some SEK 550 millio i the last te years i reovatig ad buildig busiess premises, roads, parkig spaces ad service offices. Before Skistar etered the picture, Vemdalsfastigheter also maaged the lifts ad the ski operatios. It is great to have a large player like Skistar to share the ivestmet costs. Torgy ad I are equally ethusiastic about developig this area. We are creatig this together ad are holdig frequet discussios about who should be doig what. Neither we or Skistar are buildig much housig. There are others who are happy to do that. Istead, we are resposible for creatig a pleasat eviromet ad reasos to travel here throughout the year, says Vemdalsfastigheter s MD Petter Holmberg. Eight large buildigs, i differet shapes ad sizes, are curretly beig built ear the ski lifts. Together they will create the feel of a urba ad compact ski resort. Those who thik they have spotted the Swiss hotel Regia amogst the ew buildigs are ot dreamig. This is because the beautiful old ski hotel i the Alps has bee used as the model for the ew hotel Hovde i Vemdalsskalet, all i a attempt to create the right atmosphere. The pla is for all groud floor premises i the buildigs to be used for small-scale busiess activities. The first teats are a guest service, a sports bar, a café ad a gym. Top of the wish list are a hair salo, a bakery, a spa ad a Italia restaurat. I the same spirit, Petter Holmberg ad Vemdalsfastigheter! FACTS have embarked o their ow large, log-term project. The idea is to buy old moutai farm huts, lodges ad bars, move them to Vemdale ad use them as tourist accommodatio. The first house is already i place ad has welcomed its first visitors. Petter is dreamig about recreatig a old-fashioed village little by little. The houses will be costructed to a moder stadard, but without ay extra luxuries. The luxury is i the fabric of the buildig, i the atmosphere. This is somethig I really believe i, says Petter. Tourism a rapidly growig idustry The first visitors to Jämtlad Couty were huters who arrived 8,000 years ago. They were followed by pilgrims, travellig salesme, scietists, health ethusiasts ad upper class hutig visitors. The first commercial moutai tourists visited the couty i the late 1800s. Over time they have grow i umber. Tourism is oe of Swede s fastest growig idustries. I Jämtlad Couty aloe the tourist idustry geerated turover of SEK 3.9 billio i 2011, which represets a icrease of 67 per cet over te years. There is still cosiderable eed for ivestmet, for example i more accommodatio, more adveture compaies ad more iteratioal cooperatio parters. Tourism creates jobs Tourism i Jämtlad Couty curretly provides more tha 5,000 full-time jobs. The umber of people employed i the tourism sector has icreased by 70 per cet over the last te years. Number of guest ights Jämtlad Couty records more tha 8 millio guest ights per year. Some 30 per cet are commercial, a proportio that is steadily icreasig. The remaiig guest ights comprise stays i private holiday homes, tets or with frieds ad relatives. Muicipalities with the largest umber of commercial guest ights: Åre...40% Östersud...23% Härjedale...22% Other... 15% Pie chart showig the distributio of tourism sped: Trasport 12% Foodstuffs 16% Shoppig 11% Activities 17% Accommodatio 28% Restaurats 18% 6 Busiess & Life i Mid Swede Jämtlad Härjedale 7

5 ream house leads to ew way of life The pla was to move to the Jämtlad moutais ad carry o doig their usual jobs from home. However, the house had other plas. Today Hilde ad Rube ru a B&B i their large house, have their ow boat moored by the jetty ad a garde full of hes. Hilde s ad Rube s dream house is located i a lush garde. The law rus all the way dow to the lake, where a small boat is moored by the shore. The waves splash agaist the jetty, the yellowig reeds rustle i the autum wid ad the morig su makes the rowaberry leaves glow like fire. The hes wader amog the blackcurrat bushes i the garde peckig for food. Two of them have started layig eggs ow, says Hilde proudly, showig two small eggs which are so fresh they still feel warm to touch. Everyday life these days for Hilde Talstra ad Rube Heijloo is i sharp cotrast to their former urba lifestyle i Amsterdam. Hilde was workig as a jouralist, while Rube was ivolved with a film festival. Together they dreamed of wild ature, a large garde ad chagig seasos. Aother coutry, aother life. After a few holiday trips they decided o Swede ad Jämtlad. Witer ad sow was exactly what they were lookig for, as well as a house i the moutais. Hilde ad Rube had already more or less decided which village they wated to live i whe Bräcke muicipality persuaded them to come alog for a look at the old vicarage i Revsud. That visit determied their future. We fell i love! Ad we could see edless possibilities. It was the house that decided where we should live ad that we should start a busiess ruig a B&B. This house was meat to have a lot of people livig here, says Rube. Ad authors who eed peace ad quiet to work, adds Hilde who has a kee iterest i literature. Hilde ad Rube had ot bee plaig to start a busiess, but ow they quickly chaged their mids. Hilde set up a limited liability compay for the B&B busiess, ad Rube started a sole trade compay i media ad marketig. With a quick Iteret coectio such a compay would be o problem to ru from home. Suddely they had a lot of work to do. Thaks to the Swedish Public Employmet Service s Busiess Start-up grat of SEK 4,000 each per moth they were able to survive the first six moths while reovatig the house ad creatig guest rooms. Despite barely havig picked up a hammer before, they did everythig themselves. We leart by doig. I searched YouTube for help whe we did ot kow how to do smiles Rube. The result is extremely good. Guests eter a dream world full of light ad space. The white staircase leads up to the guest floor, where rooms are sparsely but tastefully decorated with atique furiture ad beautiful fabrics. There is also a self-caterig kitche. Breakfast is served i a rustic diig hall with bare timber walls, a ope fire ad a view over the lake. Hilde ad Rube have so far had more guests tha they had expected. I their first seaso they have also had time to try ew ideas such as a summertime café ad sales of homemade ice cream. They market their services via their website ad through the local residets who are happy to pass o the iformatio to others. How ca two people achieve so much i such a short time? Ad how did they have the courage to give up their safe existece for somethig completely differet? Rube compares the upheaval i their lives to jumpig ito a deep swimmig pool. There is o time to thik or to worry, you just have to swim! He does thik a lot about what his ew life has give him, every time he looks out of the widow, i fact. I see the lake, the sceery ad the weather a forever chagig picture which I ever tire of. My previous job was so abstract. It was computers, media Here I do the basic thigs. I build, I cook food ad provide heatig. It s kid of back to basics. It feels good, says Rube. Sice a while back, Hilde is workig part-time with the project Midscad, where she is helpig Dutch families to start a ew life i Jämtlad Couty. It provides a certai fiacial security. At the same time, she wats to be at home as much as possible ad cotiue to develop her ow busiess. Small busiesses i sparsely populated areas usually eed to cooperate with other people i order to develop. You get owhere by just sittig at home i your room. You have to be ope ad make cotact with eighbours ad villagers. Our experiece is that you get a positive receptio ad people are happy to help if they ca. There are oly two of us, we ca t do everythig ourselves. For istace, we have cotacts with other tourist compaies which ca help guide our guests with fishig ad skiig, says Hilde. A ote o the frot door of the house shows that cooperatio may be eve simpler tha that. The text reads: If we re ot aroud, please call us. (Someoe ca let you i.)! TIPS Prepare for emigratio Hildes 4 best tips: Lear Swedish. Lear Swedish already before you move. This makes it easier for you whe you are lookig for a job, startig a compay, buildig up cotact etworks ad gettig to kow your ew eighbours. There are both olie laguage courses, with or without tutors, ad offlie courses i the form of laguage schools ad private teachers. Choose the method that works best for you. Draw up a budget sheet. Look at your fiacial situatio ad work out how much startig capital you will eed. It could take time to fid a job, ad it takes time before a ew compay starts turig a profit. Before that you will eed to live of savigs. Visit the couty. Visit Jämtlad Couty to get a idea of the regio. Thik of it as a study visit, ot a holiday. Build up etworks i advace ad try to meet as may people as possible withi your idustry sector ad i the residetial area you are movig to. Do t be afraid to ask for iformatio. Get help with the immigratio process. Ask for help before you start dealig with Swedish bureaucracy. There are people ad orgaisatios, for istace Midscad, who are happy to help you avigate the various processes at the Swedish Tax Agecy, the Swedish Migratio Board ad other Swedish authorities. 8 Busiess & Life i Mid Swede Jämtlad Härjedale 9

6 Ivest i: Wid Power Wid Power a expasive idustry of the future Jämtlad Couty is leadig the way i wid power i Swede. I the ext few years at least SEK 10 billio will be ivested i the costructio of ew power plats. The ivestmets will brig vast busiess opportuities i their wake. Gree eergy wids of chage are blowig aroud the world, ad are felt i Swede too. With a large area, sparse populatio ad good wid coditios, Jämtlad Couty is oe of the hottest areas i the coutry for the developmet of wid power. Havig had good experieces from the first 100 wid power plats, the authorities have ow give the gree light for a further 600, ad more are beig cosidered. Ivestmet decisios have already bee take for more tha 250 power plats. Accordig to idustry calculatios, the projects i the pipelie will require ivestmets of at least SEK 10 billio up util Strömsud muicipality is home to Swede s largest wid power park with 48 wid power plats. This is also the locatio for Swede s first ad most developed traiig programme for istallers ad techicias specialisig i wid power. A simple way of accessig the collective kowledge i this area is via the Vidkraftcetrum wid power cetre. Swedish ad foreig compaies lookig to build wid power plats i Jämtlad couty ca cotact the cetre ad get help with various thigs - at the plaig stage ad durig the costructio phase. By usig our busiess database we ca help ivestors fid the competece they are lookig for. We also help recruit labour, says Torbjör Laxvik, project maager at Vidkraftcetrum. The wid power costructio projects will create large umbers of jobs. Wid measuremet, projectio ad fiacial calculatios. Forestry work, road costructio ad castig. There will be a eed for welders, fitters ad techicias, all of whom will eed somewhere to eat ad sleep. Based o practical experiece from previous costructio projects, it is estimated that aroud 1,500 full-time jobs will be created whe the wid power plats that have bee authorised so far are built. Vidkraftcetrum s goal is that the wid power ivestmets will as far as possible beefit the local populatio i the shape of jobs ad busiess activities. Torbjör Laxvik ad his colleagues are helpig local busiesses to become aware of the busiess opportuities ad to uderstad what they eed to do i order to meet market demad oce work o the wid power costructio projects begis. They are also welcomig with ope arms ew compaies, icludig foreig oes, which wat to set up operatios i Jämtlad couty. A maufacturig idustry able to supply the wid power sector would be very desirable, says Torbjör Laxvik. Ivest i: ICT A remarkable site for Data ceters Low ivestmet costs, cheaper ruig costs ad a site that is ready ad verified. For compaies wishig to build data ceters i Östersud, thigs could t be better. Data ceters require space, eergy ad a cold climate for free coolig. This meas certai geographical locatios are better suited tha others for sitig data ceters. Jämtlad is oe of these locatios. The short summers ad cold witers facilitate the use of more cost-effective coolig systems. The proximity to a power source also makes it possible to cut the umber of back-up geerators ad thus cut ivestmet costs. Several of the power lies trasportig power to souther Swede ru through the couty. These cables have a combied capacity sufficiet to meet the electricity eeds of the whole of New York City. I Jämtlad, the eergy comes from hydro, bio ad wid, makig it 100 per cet eviromet friedly. Ahead of the costructio of a ew mega data ceter, a large iteratioal social media compay evaluated locatios i a umber of coutries. The fial choice was betwee two Swedish locatios, Östersud ad Luleå. The compay opted for Luleå. I Östersud there is ow a site that has bee through the due diligece process ad is available for the ext ivestor. Everythig is ready to go. There is o doubt that Östersud meets all the requiremets for a data ceter of this size. Sice potetial ivestors are kee to cut the time spet o the decisio-makig process, Östersud is a very attractive propositio because all the permits are i place, said Tomas Sokolicki, Ivest Swede. High performace Cotact ceters Cotact ceters i Jämtlad Couty are kow for gettig good results. The local labour force ad the geeral level of costs i the regio are factors coferrig great competitive advatages. I Jämtlad Couty there are more tha 30 cotact ceters. This is o coicidece. Compared with the metropolita regios the costs for both premises ad wages are somewhat lower i Jämtlad Couty, which of course is of fiacial importace to compaies. Fixed costs ca ever be avoided. Aside from this, the performace of a cotact ceter largely depeds o its staff. I Jämtlad Couty, staff turover at cotact ceters is lower tha i the large cities, which meas that fewer resources have to be put aside for recruitmet ad traiig. That the local workforce is both loyal ad competet comes as o surprise to H1 Commuicatio i Östersud. The compay started operatios i Östersud i 2007 ad today employs 245 people. Without competet staff we would ever have maaged to expad so rapidly. The distace to customers is ot a problem. As we are 50 miutes away by air from Stockholm, we ca quickly get to their offices. Östersud is the optimal locatio for us, says Mattias Lööv, MD of H1 Commuicatio AB. 10 Busiess & Life i Mid Swede Jämtlad Härjedale 11

7 Ivest i: The outdoors Åre It all bega with a moutai ad a railway coectio. Today, Whe Åre is raked as oe of the best ski resorts i the world. The expasio from a rural village to a world-class outdoor metropolis has bee astoishig, ad it is still goig o. the railway arrived i the village i 1882 Åreskuta was trasformed ito Swede s most easily accessible moutai. People came from ear ad far to breath the moutai air, to hut ad to search for rare flowers. Durig the 1930s ad 1940s skiig grew i popularity ad the first lifts were built. Åre s facilities were of such a high stadard that the Alpie World Ski Champioships i 1954 were held here. Over the years local busiesses have show sigular eergy ad belief i the future. I 1976 the area ivested i a aerial cable railway ad i expadig ski slopes to keep up with iteratioal stadards. Side by side with giat Skistar, which ows ad rus ski resorts i Swede ad Norway, Åre s busiesses are realisig their visios through a pro-active destiatio maagemet compay. I 2007 Åre oce agai hosted the Alpie World Ski Champioships. Sice Holiday Club, a Fiish hotel cocept was built by the shore of Lake Åresjö, summertime tourists have icreased rapidly. A large umber of evets durig the bare groud seaso keep up the pace i the village. The evets rage from a moutai maratho to a autum market. Today large umbers of visitors arrive all year roud to go fishig, horse ridig, caoeig, hikig ad bikig. Åre has become a real paradise for daredevil dowhill cyclists who thaks to the ski lifts are able to quickly reach the top of the moutai with their bikes. The moutai is a maget which attracts people throughout the seasos to explore its secrets. After a active day outside you ca the retur to a spa, restaurats ad a pulsatig ightlife i Åre. Here you ca have the best of two worlds, says Lars-Börje Eriksso, MD of the destiatio compay ad former elite Alpie skier. Skiers ad people iterested i outdoor recreatio like to settle dow i Åre i order to be able to pursue their iterests i their spare time. Their experieces ad requiremets give rise to ideas for ew fuctioal equipmet, products which ca easily be tested at the sharp ed ad ca help spaw ew busiesses. There are few places i the world which have see the creatio of such a large cluster of outdoor busiesses as the Åre area. Peak Performace, Tragia outdoor stoves ad Hilleberg the Tetmaker are but a few of these compaies. The Swedish govermet believes Åre offers great export potetial as a tourist destiatio. They are ow ivestig millios of kroor i a project to further develop Åre as a sustaiable destiatio. At the helm is Åre s creative busiess commuity, which has ow set its course o ew targets. 12 Busiess & Life i Mid Swede Jämtlad Härjedale 13

8 Ivest i: Forestry This is what migh happe whe you take a summer job i Jämtlad Ivo is buildig a future for himself i the Jämtlad forests It started as a holiday job. Today he rus a successful forestry busiess with 60 staff. It is very easy to start a busiess i Swede. Ad the people i Jämtlad are woderful, says Ivo Krsek, who moved here from the Czech Republic. Ivo Krsek was studyig to become a jouralist i his home tow i the Czech Republic whe he was persuaded by a fried to work i Swede platig forest durig the summer holiday. Without kowig what lay i store, Ivo left the big city ad came alog. We eded up i a little village with fourtee ihabitats. It was April, it was quiet, dark ad cold, ad I almost felt close to tears as I stood ad looked out over the river. I was i complete shock, says Ivo.! TIPS Busiess ad eterprise i Jämtlad Couty is probably differetly orgaised to what you are used to. The couty is sparsely populated, which requires a clear marketig pla. Local authorities ad orgaisatios ca ofte offer support i the form of advice ad sometimes fiacial solutios but oly if there is a busiess pla o paper. The regulatios goverig buildig permits ad alcohol liceces are clear ad trasparet. A licece to ru a busiess is ot geerally required. Fid out how it works! The most commo type of busiess i Swede is a limited liability compay (Aktiebolag). A quick ad easy way of gettig started is to buy a ready-made compay. You ca also set up your ow compay. The two authorities that are always ivolved i settig up a ew busiess are Bolagsverket (the Swedish Compaies Registratio Office) ad Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agecy). I order to set up a limited liability compay iitial capital of at least SEK Startig a busiess The first impressio did ot last log. Raguda muicipality tured out to comprise may cosiderably larger villages ad districts. Ivo liked his work colleagues ad the work was good, although a bit hard i the begiig. Ivo worked for the Swedish forestry compay for three summers. Every seaso he got to kow a few more Swedes. After the third seaso, Ivo remaied i Jämtlad for good ad moved i with his Swedish girlfried. Sice the, a further twelve of Ivo s compatriots have moved to Raguda muicipality. 50,000 is required. Private firms do ot require ivested capital. Ask for help with the settig-up process! Where to go for help? Midscad is the Ivestmet Promotio Agecy i Jämtlad Couty resposible for guidig iteratioal compaies ad etrepreeurs through the settig-up process. Etrepreeurs are allocated a cotact perso to provide iformatio, advice ad a wide etwork of cotacts o both a local ad atioal level. There are several orgaisatios which ca assist with the compay start-up. The help is usually free of charge. The atioal orgaisatio Ivest Swede has expert kowledge cocerig taxes ad other busiess-related queries i several idustry sectors. At a local level there are busiess advisers ad coaches for those who are drawig up a busiess pla for the first time. Midscad is o had to guide you to the right orgaisatio ad perso. People here are so helpful ad woderful! It was easy to stay ad make a future here. I am thikig of oe ma i particular here i Hammarstrad, a really dyamic perso. Whe I was workig i the forest he let me wash my clothes i his house, ad his wife tried to teach me Swedish. They opeed their arms to me, says Ivo. Durig the witer Ivo decided to set up his ow forestry compay. He bega o a small scale, with 5-6 staff from his old work team. The busiess idea was to carry out the same kid of work as the work they had bee doig for the Swedish forestry compay, that is, platig ad clearig, with a emphasis o quality. Ivo already had a little bit of experiece of ruig a busiess, havig ru a music club i the Czech Republic while he was a studet. It is easy to start a busiess i Swede, there is much less bureaucracy tha i the Czech Republic. I foud lots of useful iformatio i Eglish, for istace o the Swedish Tax Agecy website. I atteded iformatio meetigs ad a course o how to start your ow busiess, ad I had help with borrowig moey, says Ivo. Ivo put together a smart presetatio about his ew compay Alfa Skogsservice ad cotacted some 100 potetial customers. The outcome was better tha they had expected. People were aware of the Czech me ad kew they did a good job. Today, three years o, Ivo employs 60 staff durig the eight-moth log seaso. The compay s turover has icreased by 50 per cet each year ad ow amouts to SEK 12 millio. It is easy to do busiess i Swede because the rules are clear ad most people adhere to them. Swedish compaies are also good at payig o time, said Ivo. As a busiessma, Ivo is owadays mostly workig at his desk. He maitais cotacts with customers, orgaises the work ad arrages good accommodatio for all work teams, which are spread over a large geographical area. Whe he has time, he jumps i the car ad drives out ito the forests to check that the me are comfortable out there. Durig the witer Ivo focuses o fiacial matters, paperwork ad geeratig ew work. His aim is to become the largest forestry compay i orther Swede. The fact is that he is already well o the way. This is what might happe whe you take a summer job i Jämtlad. 14 Busiess & Life i Mid Swede Jämtlad Härjedale 15