Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce - San Diego
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San Diego EDC

6/12/2020

 
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Covid-19 has effected us all in some way or another. Not only are people getting ill, but families and individuals with small businesses are facing extreme difficulties as the US economy is seriously damaged by the aftermaths of the pandemic. San Diego Regional EDC, in partnerships with San Diego and Imperial SBDC, have commissioned a broad team to develop detailed guides to help small businesses reopen. There are different guides depending on what line of business you are in. 

"Small businesses are the backbone of our region’s economy, and employ the majority of San Diegans. In order to meet our regional goal of creating 50,000 quality jobs in small businesses by 2030, we all need to invest in ensuring small businesses have the tools they need to recover, adapt, and thrive over the coming months. Funding, technical assistance, and childcare for working parents are also important to the long term recovery and resiliency of San Diego’s small businesses."

Linked in the button below is the specific web page for small business guides by San Diego Regional EDC.
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San Diego EDC

Happy Swedish National Day June 6th!

6/12/2020

 

Board Presentation- Alfonso Limon

6/12/2020

 
Happy Friday! Time for a new Board-presentation- Alfonso Limon! Alfonso has been on the SACC-SD board since 2018.
Alfonso has a BS in Mech Engr, MS in Math and PhD in Comp Sci at SDSU/CGU. He spent a few years teaching at the Claremont Colleges; transitioned into bio-tech, first at Impedance Cardiology Systems and at Intersection Medical as Director of Research.

"After opening the Oneirix office in San Diego, my time is spent helping clients develop next generation technologies in the intersection of engineering, data science and medical applications"

-What's your favorite thing about living and working in San Diego?
The family move to San Diego a century ago; during the Great Depression they moved across the border and founded the first newspaper. My parents moved back to San Diego in 1980, so I feel almost native. My only escapade was about a decade in LA during my graduate work and where I met my wife. Great people, beaches, mountains and desert valleys, what’s not to like.

-Best Swedish meal?
I always look forward to Rebecca and Hans’ Gravlax that have become a great holiday tradition for the SACC family.
​
Thank you Alfonso, we love having you on the SACC-Board!
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9th Annual Green Connections 10-12 November 2020

6/11/2020

 
The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce 9th annual Green Connection ‘What’s in store for the future?’

Finally we can reveal this year’s theme for our annual Green Connection: What’s in store for the future? The topics will be focused on Energy Storage, Smart Building / Smart Cities and Renewable Energy based on the UN Sustainable goals. We are pleased to present to you the 9th annual Green Connections conference organized by the Swedish and the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in San Diego and in Strategic Partnership with the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce in LA (NACC). Please join us as a Sponsor, an Exhibitor, a Speaker, or an Attendee to promote this global collaboration. The conference will be held virtually on the 10-12 November 2020 between 7:30 AM - 10:30 AM PDT.


Why Renewable Energy? The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted in September 2015 with 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. The Swedish American Chamber of Commerce in San Diego strives to be a "one-stop-shop" for Clean Tech businesses and promote trade of sustainable Scandinavian technologies. The following goals of UN's Envision2030 is of particular importance; SDG7 Affordable & Clean Energy; SDG9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities; and SDG17 Partnerships for the Goals. The focus on Clean Energy investment and an increase in the use of renewable energy has resulted in new jobs and economic growth - while decreasing the carbon emission. Join us on the 10th of November at Green Connections in order to step up the efforts to address climate change.

Why Smart Buildings/Smart Cities? Smart buildings can connect and integrate with solutions and functions that will optimize the use of electrical grids and minimize the impacts on the global environment. As result lowering energy costs while still fulfilling its mission. Smart buildings obtain this by interacting with other building operators and occupants in order to streamline processes that will reduce costs, increase safety, productivity and quality of life for everyone working and living in the building. This is why we are focusing on solutions for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, security and other systems at Green Connections 2020.

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Why Energy Storage? Energy Storage is the missing piece that will facilitate the transition to Greener and Cleaner energy. Working as a complement to any generating asset, Energy Storage reduces greenhouse gas emissions, increases grid reliability and reduces costs. Energy Storage plays the important role in managing the high demand of electricity, so that when wind and solar energy production is captured it can later be dispatched when it is needed. This is why we want to focus this year’s Green Connections on future solutions for Energy Storage.

Why do we at the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce have Clean Tech as a strategic focus? California state takes many steps in becoming green and the market for renewable energy business is more supported in California than any other state. But that is not the only reason why CleanTech companies should go to California. There is also a lot of opportunities in applying for grants and incentives available for Cleantech companies. In addition to the Green Connections we are arranging a Trade Mission with Swedish and Finnish companies coming to San Diego for the Conference. The companies are given the opportunity to participate in a customized program with meetings, company visits, seminars and network meetings based on the needs and wishes of the companies. The Swedish-American Chamber in San Diego wants to assure you that distance between Scandinavia and California when looking at growing your business internationally is not as big as you may think and with our network we can help facilitate your expansion.

Why Sweden?
Apart from the importance of transatlantic trade and investment and benefits of deeper economic integration - Sweden is one of the world’s leading CleanTech countries. Sweden is not afraid of new technology, it has the innovations and skills for the future. Therefor, The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce in San Diego strives to be a "one-stop-shop" for Clean Tech businesses and promote trade of sustainable Scandinavian technologies. 
Moreover, from economic interactions with Sweden, jobs are created in U.S. Most directly through employment by Swedish-affiliated companies, where more than 303,756 people are directly employed in the U.S., but also through exports of goods and services. To addition, every time a job is created, it triggers a “multiplier effect” as other jobs are created in support of that job. This is most pronounced in local services but also affects suppliers, distributors, and infrastructure firms. For more information or questions email greenconnections@sacc-sandiego.org regarding Green Connection 2020!

Swedish Interview with SACC's Johan Marcus

6/9/2020

 
Johan Marcus, President and Executive Director at SACC-USA, was interviewed in Dagens Industri on June 4th. The interview is in Swedish and discusses the current economic status in the US in midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The interview also discusses how this in turn may effect the Swedish-American relations.

Johan Marcus- "We can see that it is almost an economy in free fall. The first quarter we did not see so much, but the second quarter we saw much clearer impact. The economy has shrunk by a quarter. The Governor (of Sveriges Riksbank) believes that it can be as much as a third"
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Dagens Industri Intervju

Anders Brunmark- Board

5/23/2020

 
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This week we want to highlight our Board Member, Anders Brunmark! 👏 Anders has been on the Board of SACC-SD a little over 4 years. He grew up in Skåne and completed his undergraduate in chemistry in Lund and his PhD in Linköping with a thesis work on quinones and oxygen radicals. He moved to San Diego for a postdoc at Scripps in 1990.
“It was supposed to last for two years but those two years quickly became four. And now almost 30. Well, my postdoc ended after four years and then I took a job at J&J just across the street. So after moving nine time zones I felt a move of a few hundred meters was just right.”
-What's your favorite thing about living and working in San Diego?
Even the first years in town when I returned from trips and we were just about to land on Lindberg field I had that feeling of coming home. There was just something all together pleasant and welcoming about this city. And, ever since then I have never been able to talk myself out of here, there are just too many good things in San Diego.
-Best Swedish candy/ or meal/ or sommarställe?
Do I have to pick just one? Moose filet with gorgonzola. Warm smoked salmon. Smultrontårta. Homemade vanilla ice-cream with cloudberry jam. Etc.
Thank you Anders for your engagement and work on the SACC-San Diego!

Hans Janzon- Chariman of SACC-SD

5/23/2020

 
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Today we want to introduce Hans, our Chairman and solid rock of SACC-San Diego. Hans has been on the Board for four years and has during that time served as President of our organization. 
👏
Hans has a Masters in Geological Engineering from Colorado School of Mines. During the years 1981-1985 Hans worked as a geologist including 2 years in the North Sea for Norsk Hydro. From 1985 to 1996 he worked in various marketing manager jobs at Atlas Copco, Mining and Construction including 2 years in Seattle. From 2003 to 2014 Hans was President of Grolls/Björnkläder in Sweden, where he managed to successfully build the company from 9 stores to 49, with stores in four countries and an increase in sales from 300 MSEK to 1000 MSEK in those 12 years. Amazing and inspiring work!

-What's your favorite thing about living and working in San Diego?
My favorite thing to do in San Diego is golfing and hiking,and some skiing in the winter. San Diego has the best climate in all of the US. Also working with SACC is a great pleasure!

-Best Swedish candy/ meal/ sommarställe?
My favorite Swedish candy is Turkish peber (really strong salt licorice)
My favorite meal is Sechuan beef at PF Changs or anything REAL spicy.
My favorite place in Sweden is Bohuslän with the fantastic archipelago
​
Thank you for all your hard work Hans, we really appreciate you!

New Digital Event June 4th

5/23/2020

 
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On June 4th The Swedish American Chamber of Commerce in San Diego will host a Webinar focusing on decision making in the Life Science Industry. For this Webinar, we have invited one of our Life Science Members- Captario. Specialized in helping Drug Development project teams and portfolio leads, the Swedish high-tech company Captario will show their advanced modeling & simulation tool and argue that decision making must shift from guesswork to well-informed data driven decisions. The complexities in the development processes must be structured and uncertainties must be dealt with and used to your advantage. This will save time, enable evaluation of many more options, understand risks and find the right opportunities.

We are also presenting our newest member, Westwood & Wilshire! They deliver premier talent to the world’s most innovative companies; primarily in Life Sciences and Technology industries. W&W partners with companies ranging from VC-backed start-ups to mid-sized commercial entities on assignments ranging from C-Suite to mid-management. The firm has offices in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, and Seattle; serving clients on a local, national, and global basis.
The Webinar will discuss how to deal with uncertainty – in drug development and in leadership response. We are thrilled to have these two highly skilled companies with us and the webinar will bring great insight and discussion in this thriving industry.
WHEN: June 4th. 11 am PDT, 20:00 CEST.
WHERE? Closer to the event, a Zoom-link will be sent out to all registered attendees.
The event is free of charge for all to attend.

#lifescience #pharma #pharmaceutical #decisionmaking #responsevieleadership #drugdevelopment #recuitement #saccsdmember #saccwebinar #lifescienceindustry #socal

Presentation of the SACC-Board

5/10/2020

 
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Starting today, we will do a weekly series with small presentations of our fenomenal Board of Directors. First out: our President, Ted Stübner! 🥳
"I have been on the Board of SACC-SD since the fall 2018. I moved to San Diego with my wife in 2014 and I have a background in Tourism Marketing, having worked for one of the leading travel agencies in Scandinavia. In San Diego I run my own company where we help Nordic students come to California for professional work experience. In March this year I stepped in as President for SACC-SD."
What’s your favorite thing about San Diego?
-I love the ocean, so my favorite thing with San Diego is that I can access two beaches in less than 3 minutes and I can commute on the board walk with my bike.
What’s your favorite Swedish meal?
-My best Swedish meal is my fathers homemade “pannbiff” with potatoes, gravy and lingon berries.
Thank you Ted, we appreciate you and the great work you provide the chamber with!

Swedish Fika!

5/10/2020

 
Fika is a Swedish word meaning to have a break and drink a cup of coffee and of course, most importantly to have something sweet to eat with it. In these times, it is more important than ever to support your local. So if you're a Swede in Southern California, this can't get anymore local! And the best part is that their Fika tastes just like home. 

All of these kanelbullar, kardemummabullar and småkakor are baked by our Corporate Member Swedish Fika! Go and order your Fika to go with your coffee. We promise you won't regret it. ​

Member of the Month- Trice Imaging!

5/10/2020

 


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​This month, we would like to highlight the work of our corporate member Trice Imaging! The CEO of Trice, Åsa Sjöblom Nordgren, was one of the speakers at our webinar: How is Covid-19 accelerating Digital Healthcare? Trices product is called Tricefy and is a cloudbased medical imaging product. With Tricefy, the patient can collaborate with referring physicians, outside providers, scholars and industry professionals instantly for a second opinion, research, or education - right from home without unnecessary in-person visits. 

The coronavirus hit hard with worldwide lockdowns. Along with it comes a huge need for healthcare working remotely as people no longer have the option of visiting a hospital for check-ups or other medical needs. The same way goes for maternal fetal medicine. During these difficult times with the coronavirus, partners or other family are not allowed in with the expecting mother when she is having an ultrasound. This can be quite isolating for the patient as her partner and family can’t be involved. Using Tricefy during this pandemic reduces exposure risks to patients as well as healthcare workers. Trice is now offering their product Tricefy for free during 90 days:

”We want to make sure that we do everything in our power to support the people on the frontline. As such, we have made the only right decision to offer Tricefy, our remote medical imaging solution, free of charge to any health care provider in the world for at least the next 90 days.” - Åsa Sjöblom Nordgren, CEO of Trice Imaging

Happy Valborg!

5/10/2020

 

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Every year on April 30th, Swedes celebrate the tradition of Valborg. This is a celebration of the welcoming of spring. This is also a day where all of the graduating high school students get to wear their graduation cap for the first time, which is an important and essential moment for a young Swede. Furthermore, Valborg is one of our Annual Events and we usually celebrate it at Mission Beach with our members and friends. Valborg is often celebrated with choir singing, gathering by a big bonfire and lots of joy and hope. Hope, as spring is arriving with better weather and the days getting longer and lighter. As we all still need to stay at home, we will have to celebrate Valborg virtually this year. But the key aspects of Valborg still remain: hope for lighter and better days. This is something we all need. Things will get better and the world will heal. Happy Valborg from all of us at the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce in San Diego. ​

Webinar: How is covid-19 Accelerating Digital Healthcare?

4/29/2020

 
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WEBINAR WITH COALA LIFE & TRICE IMAGING

Tomorrow Wednesday April 29 we will host our first webinar of the spring! 
In order to protect staff and patients, the healthcare systems need to work remotely. Telemedicine and Life Science companies are developing new efficient solutions faster than ever before, in order to streamline healthcare and make it remote.

The event will held through Zoom and attendees in the US as well as in Sweden will be able to attend as the time for the event is 11 am PDT and 20:00 CEST.

Tickets are free and it is not mandatory to register for the event, however we have set up an Eventbrite to simplify registration and for the attendees to get helpful reminders and notifications.

1 hour before the Webinar starts we will send out the link via email to all the registered attendees on Eventbrite. We will also post the link on our Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. All info can also be found in our Facebook-event. 

Hope to see you all there!
​/The SACC-Team

Our Star Realtor, Suzanne Svahn!

4/17/2020

 
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Suzanne Svahn Realtor is one of our Corporate Members. Suzanne is such a hard working and genuine person and the best San Diego Realtor 💐 She is also, of course, a trouper in #quarantine and has some great tips on how to stay positive in these difficult times when we all get to adjusted to having our homes as offices:

- Make it your office
Get off the couch, and definitely out of bed! I work most hours out of my office but sometime during the day I will bring my laptop out on the patio to get some work done. My patio doors are open so I can get as much air and natural sunlight as possible. My diffuser is on during the day with different essential oils depending on the day and my mood.
I’ve scheduled time for workouts, I’ve been doing Pilates a couple of times a week, which is a great workout! I’m also thankful I still get to run outside. I’m also taking every opportunity I can to take my dog for a walk. It’s a great way to recharge and to clear my brain.

- Stay connected
When possible, use video over the standard conference call to help create more interactions and avoid loneliness. Connect with clients, your colleagues and set up virtual Happy Hour with friends and loved ones. This is a good time to connect with people all over the world!

- Create lists and stay positive
Every night before I go to bed or in the morning I create a list of what I will deliver by the end of the day. Affirmations, meditation, and journaling is an important morning routine.
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Thank you Suzanne for sharing your great advice! 🤩

Volvo Employees Voluntarily Work to Ease Impact of the Global Coronacrises

4/13/2020

 
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A special thank you to the weekly magazine 'Spanaren' and Göran Ekstedt for sending us this article that highlights the very important work of Volvo Group in times of the Coronacrisis.

A vast majority of Volvo's 100 000 employees in the company's manufacturing global operations are laid off due to the world wide Coronacrisis. A number of measures are made in order to help customers,  employees and society. ”Many of our employees in all markets are voluntary working with non-governmental organizations like the Red Cross International”, says to Spanaren Newsletter Mr. Claes Eliasson, Senior Vice President at Volvo Group headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden.

”During times of uncertainty it’s more important than ever to do what we can to make a real difference. We are working in real time to keep our employees safe, limit the impact for society, support our customers and protect our business,” Claes Eliasson says and adds: ”We are also planning activities with a wide range of authorities and companies to see how we can work together to solve problems where the needs are greatest”. 

Some of Volvos actions made are:
Protecting their employees
Suspended production in their global manufacturing operations.
Where possible the company's working employees are performing their duties from home in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus.

Supporting their customers
Prioritizing the workshop and spare parts operation to keep our customers rolling.
”In Poland we hand out food boxes to drivers who have difficulties finding food as restaurants are closed”, says Claes Eliasson and continues, ”We are helping our customers manage their financial needs”.
During the outbreak Volvo provides a free online medical service through a clinic app for all 30,000,000 truck drivers in China.

Helping the society
The company is making 3D printing and assembly capability available for employees voluntary production of face masks. In the Tuve plant alone, in Gothenburg, Sweden, 2000 shields per day will be produced for Swedish health care.

Collaborating with Ica, a Swedish food wholesale and retailer, to help secure the Swedish food supply. Ica will use  Volvo´s freight trains to transport food from Gent in Belgium to Sweden.
”We have donated 2MSEK to the Red Cross International appeal, says Mr. Eliasson and adds
”We have sourced 100 000 face masks, 20 000 protection glasses and 50 000 face shields to the health care in Sweden and in France”.

Other measures taken:
Sponsoring Hack the crisis, a hackathon to design, test and develop ideas to fight the crisis.

Working together with the Swedish Armed Forces to transport medical supplies within Sweden.
Sourced 3 000 excess PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) in Volvo's facilities locally to support the local health care systems across the globe.

Funding loaner refurbished laptops and Wi-Fi support to a local school in North Carolina, USA, where over 70 per cent of students come from low-income homes.

Planning to donating 100 used laptops for children to help them with their on-line schooling/learning. The laptops will be distributed to poor or foster families through municipality institutions in Poland.

Food donations to schools in the US
Conducting local food donations in North America as the school lunch may be the only reliable source of cooked food for many students that now can’t go to school.
Distributed 1,000 disposable masks, several dozen N95 masks and about 500 pairs of disposable gloves to be delivered to Cone Health Medical Center in USA.
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Protective eyewear for emergency rooms in Brazil
Supporting the production of 35,000 liters of hand sanitizer as well as several dozen masks, protective eyewear and vests for emergency rooms in Curitiba and Parana State in Brazil.

​
Article written by GÖRAN EKSTEDT (Spanaren),
with the support of Mr. Claes Eliasson, Volvo Group Media Relations.
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THE SWEDISH AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN SAN DIEGO

The Swedish American Chamber of Commerce in San Diego is a thriving network of companies and individuals interested in the commercial and social exchange between Sweden and the Southern California’s San Diego region. 
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Swedish American Chamber of Commerce - San Diego
4475 Mission Boulevard, Suite 225
​ San Diego CA, 92109

E-mail: marketing@sacc-sandiego.org

Phone: +1 (760) 500 9069
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