Business Project of the Year 2024

We have received the Entrepreneurial Project of the Year 2024 award in the prestigious competition organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

We are immensely honored to inform you that our printing company, POINT CZ, has received a prestigious award in the "Entrepreneurial Project of the Year 2024" competition. This award was ceremoniously presented on November 7, 2024, at the Sacre Coeur Chapel in Prague 5.

The Entrepreneurial Project of the Year is a prestigious competition organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Czech Republic in cooperation with the Business and Innovation Agency.  Since 2006, this independent competition has recognised entrepreneurs for successful projects supported by European structural funds. The 2024 projects were implemented under the MPO’s Operational Programme for Technology and Applications for Competitiveness (OP PIK).

The selected projects underwent evaluation based on predefined criteria, including innovativeness, quality of preparation, implementation process, and final assessment, said Marian Piecha, Chief Director of the EU Funds Section. In the category of ICT and Shared Services, the printing company POINT CZ was the only winning project.

We received this recognition for our project “Continuing the Digitisation and Robotisation of POINT CZ Printing,” which was supported by European structural funds under the Operational Programme for Business and Innovation for Competitiveness, ICT and Shared Services Programme, Call V – Digital Enterprise.

As part of the Entrepreneurial Project of the Year competition, we recognized 12 of the most successful projects by Czech entrepreneurs who are innovating, implementing Industry 4.0, and advancing in digitization. In doing so, they not only increase their competitiveness but also help our entire economy. I would like to thank them for that and wish them much success in their future entrepreneurial visions, said Minister of Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček.

The Entrepreneurial Project of the Year competition annually brings to light the best of the best, highlights the extraordinary successes of Czech companies, and strengthens positive PR in the field of business support from European funds. I am proud that the projects we manage aim for continuous knowledge enhancement, strengthening market positions, and boosting positive environmental impact, stated Jan Piskáček, General Director of the Agency for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

We greatly value this prestigious award, especially because it is based on an independent evaluation. Our placement in the competition came as a very pleasant surprise for us. Companies do not apply for the competition, but instead, the commission selects candidates from completed EU-funded projects. We are a technology-focused company and have been investing in modernisation and automation in line with Industry 4.0 for many years, said Michal Sázavský, CEO of POINT CZ.

The project focused on advanced digitisation and robotisation of production and logistics processes with the aim of transforming traditional production procedures into automated operations. The project centred around three key areas: automation, digitisation, and security. Automation in production introduced advanced manufacturing technologies for faster and more precise output, and reducing costs.  The goal of logistics digitisation was to improve inventory tracking and optimise deliveries through new software solutions. In the field of data security, the focus was on strengthening the company’s cybersecurity, including conducting a security policy audit and modernising systems.

We have been using EU grant programmes for several years.  In recent years, we have primarily focused on investments in IT, software development and robotisation. These projects require high levels of specialisation, and their success is the result of long-term hard work by the entire team. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our colleagues at POINT CZ who contributed not only to the winning project but also to the many other projects we've worked on over the years. This includes our project managers, software developers including the IT department, production process specialists, and the directors of our production plants.

Our printing company’s IT investment plans are long-term, and the projects follow one another seamlessly. Their financing is also complex, as they lack physical assets. We have been working with Société Générale Equipment Finance (SGEF) for many years to finance major projects. We extend our thanks to them, as they have been our financial partner for nearly two decades, and together we have completed many successful projects.

Another important thank-you goes to the Rödl & Partner agency, which has been helping us successfully navigate the EU grant application process for years, added Vladimír Sázavský, CEO of POINT CZ.

As a company, we greatly appreciate this award, and we channel its impact where it is needed most: into efficient production and speeding up the delivery of our customers' orders.