AROBS Transilvania Software, one of Romania’s largest software outsourcing service providers, has bought SAS Grup, which operates the fleet monitoring software alarma.ro. No financial details have been released.

The deal strengthens AROBS’ position as a leader in the Romanian fleet monitoring market, bringing the company’s portfolio to more than 6500 customers and more than 85,000 vehicles monitored daily, making it the largest player on the fleet monitoring market in central and south eastern Europe.

“This step is part of our strategy of expanding via acquisitions, a process we began in 2013,” said Voicu Oprean (pictured above), founder and CEO of AROBS. “We are still looking for other procurement opportunities in Romania and eastern Europe, as our goal is to reach over 100,000 cars monitored in the next year.”

Founded more than 20 years ago, AROBS has extensive experience in various industries including automotive, travel and hospitality, life sciences, IoT and enterprise solutions.

AROBS made a profit of 2.3 million euros in 2017 on revenues of 19.6 million euros. AROBS has over 700 employees, based in offices located in Cluj, Bucharest, Targu Mureș, Iași, Suceava, Baia Mare, Arad, Budapest and Chișinău.

In September, BlackRock opened the doors of its new data and technology hub — in a former lift factory in Budapest. The world’s biggest fund manager has hired 400 staff for the office and plans to recruit a further 100 technology and customer service workers. The intense recruitment has nearly doubled BlackRock’s continental European headcount in just over a year.
Technology has become the biggest arms race in the global asset management industry as rivals try to gain an edge in trading. “The reason we chose Hungary and Budapest was really around the talent,” said Melanie Seymour, head of the new office. “The talent that BlackRock is recruiting globally is very much focused on technology, data science and languages.”
The New York-listed group, which manages $6.3trillion for clients worldwide, has been investing heavily in technology. Its San Francisco innovation hub has become increasingly influential within the business, with Mark McCombe, head of Americas, moving to the city last year.
The office has become the centre of BlackRock’s growing efforts in quantitative investment.
Ms Seymour was head of BlackRock’s defined contribution centre in Peterborough, UK, until it sold the business to Aegon in 2016. She said the new office would not be totally aligned with the San Francisco innovation centre but would work on global projects.
BlackRock is tapping into a central and eastern European workforce that is highly skilled and able to speak several European languages. The workers are also relatively cheap compared with those in North America and western Europe.
The office will develop technology for financial and business processes, handling client data and marketing. It will also pick up customer services, including providing a help desk for German-speaking clients across Europe.
Of the 400 staff recruited so far, 82 per cent are Hungarian, with the rest coming from 20 other countries. One in eight of the recruits is a Hungarian returning to the country from workplaces such as the UK, US, Germany and Japan.
BlackRock will occupy a third of the GTC White House, a converted lift factory with underground car parking and a roof that recycles rainwater. The historical structure is surrounded by and connected to a modern glass building. The Hungarian government said it would provide nearly $1m financial support for training. BlackRock has been undertaking philanthropic work in Budapest, including teaching women who are on maternity leave but do not work for the company how to write computer code.

U.S. carmaker Ford opened a regional service center in Budapest in September. The new Budapest SSC is Fordʼs biggest European administrative center, said Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó. In addition to several pricing and production planning functions serving all European markets, the center will provide HR services to Ford units in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Szijjártó said. By the end of next year, Ford will have 700 employees in Hungary, mainly highly-qualified young professionals speaking foreign languages, the minister added.

Szijjártó was cited by government website kormany.hu as saying that the palette of Hungary’s automotive industry will now be complete thanks to the fact that, in addition to production and R&D, a large automotive brand has also brought its administrative and financial service center to Hungary.

The automotive industry is setting the pace in global competition, said the minister, adding that this is good news for Hungary as the automotive industry represents the backbone of the Hungarian economy, and adding that the production value of the Hungarian automotive industry increased by 8% year-on-year, following last year’s record figure.

Ford Regional Director Viktor Molnár said the company now operates at three bases in Hungary. Over the past five years, Ford has brought more and more European and global functions to Hungary, namely the companyʼs European financial, pricing, production planning, product management, marketing and controlling tasks, and several global functions, he added.

The headcount at Fordʼs Hungarian units has tripled over the past five years and is expected to grow to almost 600 by the end of this year, Molnár noted.

Budapest's Danube riverside was the location for the unveiling of Talentuno, the new brand built by the team at SSC Heroes.

More than 500 HR-related execs attended the 25 September launch event, co-branded by HVG magazine of Hungary, and featuring one of NetFlix's top HR execs.

Founders of SSC Heroes Zsolt Kelliar and Peter Balazsik took to the stage to unveil this highly-disruptive Talentuno platform, which connects “Matchmakers” directly with companies searching for white-collar talent.

Talentuno, referred to by one guest as the “Uber for the HR industry”, is in final stages of raising Euro 5 million (with Euro 3 million already commited) for its European expansion, with Poland roll-out next in line.

While the SSC sector will remain the anchor of its platform, the new Talentuno platform allows the firm to expand beyond the SSC into a wide-range of white-collar jobs, ranging from doctors and nurses to airline stewardesses.

Dahua Technology, a China-based provider of solutions in the global video surveillance industry, has opened its European supply center in Zalaegerszeg (180 km southwest of Budapest).

"The Dahua Technology European Supply Center has a key role in Dahua Technology’s European growth plans," said Jason Zheng, director of overseas supply center operations management at Dahua Technology. "The company sees huge opportunities for further growth in these markets, and establishing a local assembly line and logistics center is a key step to serve these markets in a very competitive way," he added.

The center was opened to supply European markets with better customer service and faster delivery through local assembling and centralized logistics services. A Dahua partner will operate the plant, responsible for warehousing, production, and logistics. The main function of the center will be the assembly and customization of CCTV systems.

TransUnion, one of the world’s largest credit risk assessment and information solutions companies, opened its brand new premises in Kaunas in September. The new 800 sq meter facility is located next to the company’s existing Kaunas office, a 2,500 sq meter premises in Žalgiris Arena. The new facility is intended for a team of Lithuanian cyber security specialists who will be continuously monitoring the online security of more than 1,200 company employees and the information systems of TransUnion’s corporate customers worldwide.

TransUnion (formerly Callcredit) has designed its new Kaunas office specifically for the proactive and continuous operation of IT security system teams. The premises has a range of technologies integrated, including smart screens which show updated critical system data, providing greater flexibility for monitoring functions. This in-house technology allows the system’s security status to be proactively monitored. As a result, security incidents can be detected much more quickly and dealt with more efficiently. TransUnion has invested over €175,000 in the premises and its systems.
“Our branch in Kaunas, which has been operating for more than 6 years, has demonstrated strong competence and expertise,” explained Jonas Lukošius, Manager of TransUnion’s Kaunas office, as he showed guests around the new premises and introduced the teams working there. “The platform monitoring teams who are working on cyber security are the only TransUnion UK teams that operate 24/7, ensuring the uninterrupted and stable operation of all systems,” continued Mr Lukošius. “The technologies on the premises enable us to deliver services to our customers even faster. This is particularly important in the context of the rapid expansion and progress of technology, and the increasing security threats that come with this.”
Steve Humm, the Executive Director of TransUnion UK, was keen to emphasise the high esteem the Kaunas team is held in within the company. “With the help of Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), the largest technology university in the Baltic States, Kaunas is becoming a universal city for foreign investors.“

The Kaunas division of TransUnion was previously part of UK credit company Callcredit. In June this year, Callcredit was acquired by TransUnion, one of the world’s largest credit risk assessment and information solutions companies. Founded in 1968, TransUnion is based in Chicago. The company provides consumer data analysis, risk assessment and interactive solution services. Branches of TransUnion operate in North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa. The company currently employs over 5,100 employees.

Full Article here: https://investlithuania.com/news/transunions-kaunas-team-providing-24-7-global-cyber-security-from-its-brand-new-facility/

Diverse Consulting Group, a firm specializing in building teams for IT projects, opens a new office in Gdansk.

“DGT, as part of their planned activities here, will address a number of different needs of both employers and customers who already constitute more than half of the local BSS sector”, said Marcin Grzegory, deputy director of Invest in Pomerania, about the new investment.

The company has been operating on the IT market for 10 years and is based in Warsaw. Last autumn it also opened a branch in Great Britain. Like the Warsaw branch, Gdansk structures will be responsible for recruitment related to the IT area and new technologies.

“We have opted for Tri-City due to its attractiveness as the agglomeration, development potential and strong position in the IT sector”, said Michał Lewandowski, CEO of Diverse Consulting Group.

The new office is located in the office complex Alchemia. The company has leased nearly 300 sq m.

New Central Service Center in Tri-City will handle a variety of tasks for ONE’s European operations.

Ocean Network Express is a major new global container shipping company that emerged from the legacy of three Japanese liner carriers: Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd (“K” Line), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Co., Ltd (MOL) and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK).

With the global headquarters in Singapore and the combined capacity of container fleets at 1 440,000 TEU, the company will cover over 100 countries, including more than 200 key ports from around the world.

Currently, the Central Service Center in Gdańsk employs 120 people. “There are many professionals in logistics and shipping on the market here, which will enable us to provide a high level of service to our customers”, said Mr. Reiner Zimbalski, Director of the Central Service Center in Gdańsk, during the official opening in August 2018.

While hiring, the company focused on analytical and language skills, higher education (especially experience in the logistics industry) and knowledge of the maritime sector.

The center in Gdańsk will be the key part of ONE’s operations and is handling a variety of supporting tasks for Europe, such as equipment (container) management, plus maintenance and repair. Port Operations in Gdańsk communicates with the terminals in the European ports to arrange that all containers are loaded on the right vessel and sent to the correct destination.

UK bank Standard Chartered, which has previously announced plans to open a global service centre in Warsaw, has decided to lease 3,600 sm office space in The Warsaw Hub, which is under construction in Warsaw’s Wola district. Plans are to eventually employ around 750 people in the centre.
“Warsaw will also benefit from this, since Standard Chartered has decided to open its service centre to focus on its European and American clients. This is a clear illustration of the Polish capital’s position in the world of business and the strength of the local property market, which is unrivalled in this part of the continent,” says Jarosław Zagórski, the commercial and business development director, Ghelamco Poland.
“We are delighted to have signed a long-term lease for our permanent office in Warsaw. Once it is completed, we look forward to being in The Warsaw Hub when it becomes a permanent addition to Warsaw’s impressive skyline,” said Rowena Everson, the CEO of Standard Chartered Global Business Services. CBRE represented the tenant during the negotiations. The Warsaw Hub will consist of three skyscrapers including an 86m hotel building and two 130m office towers. The centre will have a total area of 113,000 sqm.

Anca Fotache will take over the leadership of the Service Delivery division for the EMEA region within Stefanini, replacing Andreea Stănescu, who has held this position for 7 years. Anca joined Stefanini Romania more than 4 years ago, as Service Desk Manager, being promoted to Senior Operations Delivery Manager later on. Only 7 months ago, Anca was yet again promoted to a regional position, as the ITO Delivery Director for Stefanini EMEA.


As the Director of Service Delivery, Anca will be responsible for the delivery of IT support services and infrastructure - in Europe, this will happen through the company’s service centers from Romania, Poland, Belgium and the Republic of Moldova. After 7 successful years with Stefanini, Andreea Stănescu will leave the company as of October 1st, in order to dedicate herself to other personal and professional projects.