This year’s central event for the automotive industry in the region was held in Belgrade on 30–31.05.2023. The Chamber of Economy of the Federation of BiH, together with 5 companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina, participated in the regional automotive industry conference “SEE Automotive – Connect & Supply 2023”. This year’s conference, organized by the Automotive Cluster of the Republic of Serbia, was the 9th in a row and was held this year at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Belgrade.
The aim of this year’s conference was to connect OEM manufacturers, TIER1&2 companies and relevant public institutions in order to further support the development of the automotive industry in the region of Southeast and Eastern Europe. This conference is one of the most important professional and business gatherings in this part of Europe when it comes to the automotive industry. It is an opportunity for participants to learn about trends among companies in the region and around the world and their plans regarding production. Also, during the conference, B2B meetings were organized in order to maximize business contacts.
On the first day of the conference, 5 panels were held on the following topics:
- “The state of the automotive industry in the region and the world”,
- “New challenges: electromobility and technologies related to electromobility”,
- “Advancement of automotive technologies: What’s next”,
- “Smart manufacturing: challenges and future directions of action” and
- “Learn how to become a supplier of automotive software”.
On these topics, eminent and proven experts from European and global companies, global leaders in their fields of business, spoke. We especially highlight: Magdalena Soljakova, International Finance Corporation – IFC; Sasha Cioringa, Continental Automotive, Serbia; Volker Hagen Walz, Daimler Truck AG, Germany; Filip Mitrović, 360° mobility®, Serbia; Edoardo De Coster, Stratasys, USA; Petar Ilić, Draexlmaier Group, Germany/Serbia, as well as many other relevant participants.
What is especially important to emphasize is that the conclusion of each panel on the first day of the conference was that the automotive industry globally is going through a challenging process and that now is the right time to join global supply chains and align with global trends and commitments.
On the second day of the conference, the central and only topic of the panel discussion was “How to become a supplier to Tier 1 companies”. This topic deserves special attention given that the companies present in the region are mostly Tier 2 level suppliers. Accordingly, the companies that took part in the panel discussion on the second day of the conference described in detail, structurally and procedurally, the checks, requirements and processes that companies wishing to become suppliers to Tier 1 companies must go through and meet. This information is of essential importance for companies from BiH that wish to join the automotive industry supply chains.
It is very important to note that all panelists, speakers, introducers and other participants stayed and socialized together during the two days of the conference and were available for conversation, discussion, networking and exchange of experiences and knowledge.
We note that regional conferences of this type are a great opportunity for companies from BiH in the automotive industry, as representatives of BiH companies can, in one place, contact people in key positions within their companies and start or improve already established business cooperation.
