Europlan partners with Sotenäs Municipality in Sweden
In March 2015, Stephan Pascall, Managing Director of Europlan UK Ltd. and Mats Abrahamsson, Mayor of the Sotenäs Municipality in Sweden signed a an agreement to cooperate on European projects and policies. Under this agreement, Europlan UK will represent the Sotenäs Municipality in the European Institutions. Europlan will also support the Municipality in developing and managing EU-funded projects in the areas of bio-economy and circular economy, blue growth, tourism and culture, among others. The signing ceremony took place on 18 March 2015 in Kungshamn, Sweden.
Sotenäs Municipality
The Sotenäs Municipality is located in the Bohuslän Region of Sweden, along the coast between Gothenburg and the Norwegian border (map). It has the population of 8928 inhabitants and land area of 138 sq.km. The Municipality’s administrative seat is located in Kungshamn. Other towns include Bovallstrand, Hovenäset, Hunnebostrand, Malmön, Smögen and Väjern. Business in Sotenäs is vibrant. In total, 1500 companies are active of over 2000 registered enterprises. Tourism is the dominant industry and major manufacturing companies are operating in the fishing and stone mining and processing sectors.
Fishing industry
The fishing industry has always been one of the key industries of the municipality, but over the years the fleet of fishing vessels has been scaled down. Herring, dubbed the “silver of the seaâ€, has come and gone over the centuries, bringing alternating poverty and wealth to the fishing population. Nonetheless, the fish processing industry has developed over the years and flourished. The most predominant fish processing companies as of February 2013 in Sotenäs are Orkla Foods Kungshamn, Leroy Smogen Seafood AB and Domstein Sweden AB. They are all involved in fish processing on an industrial scale and export globally under a variety of brands.
Stone industry
The stone industry has deep roots in Sotenäs and has left its mark on the landscape and psyche of the people that live in it. Granite, a beautiful stone ranging from reddish orange, pink to grey, was cut from the rocks continuously during the 19th century. Most of these stone products were exported to Germany, Cuba and Argentina.
Tourism
Sotenäs County attracts about 1 million tourists per year, particularly during the summer season. The Bohuslän region is a beautiful unspoiled area on Sweden’s west coast offering both a coastal and hilly forested interior. The coast is lined with smooth, sculptured pink granite rocks, quaint fishing villages and an archipelago of 8,000 islands, stretching from Gothenburg in the south to the border of Norway in north. The hilly interior consists of forests and lakes peppered with small farms dedicated to bio production and agritourism. Walking, cycling, tracking, canoeing, fishing as well as wildlife observing are some of the tourist attractions in this area.
Nature
Bohuslän is globally renowned for its environment and CNN has ranked it as one of the world’s most beautiful wilderness areas. The area is a natural habitat of deer, badgers, moose, foxes and a variety of rare birds. In Sotenas, you’ll find wilderness, unique barren archipelagos with reddish granite rocks, plateaus and fertile plains, lakes located in unique surroundings with forested wilderness. There are eight protected nature reserves in the municipality.
