Eten Catering
We had the pleasure to do an interview with Eten Catering – a renowned catering company in Fort Lauderdale that specializes in European food. The owners, Allison from England and Dirk from Belgium, started off their career working in the private yachting industry. After many years of catering high level food on world class yachts, […]
Polatsek – Counsellors at Law
Last week we had the pleasure of meeting with Harry D. Polatsek- the founder of Polatsek, Counsellors at Law. Harry started his career in 1977 as a lawyer in New York and in 1983; he opened Polatsek Counsellors at Law, a firm specializing in immigration law. From the early 1980’s, he began representing Swedish clients […]
Vikand
Last week we had the opportunity to meet with Len Quist – Vice President and General Manager at VIKAND Solutions. It was a pleasure to meet Len, who is also one of the five founders and the former President of our Chamber. The name VIKAND stands for “We can” or “Vi kan” in Swedish. The D stands for on demand and emphasizes the company’s flexibility and goal to meet their clients’ needs. VIKAND is an American based company, with global operations and with a dash of Swedish culture. VIKAND was founded in 2010. Len describes the organization as culturally diverse with a flat organizational structure. Working with almost 200 cruise vessels, their goal is to make life better at sea by providing excellent maritime medical services and improving health and hygiene on board. VIKAND offers a tailor-made medical service solution to fit each clients’ individual needs. This means running the onboard medical operations and providing biomedical services to over 170 cruise ships. Besides the above services, VIKAND also offers various technical solutions, such as air purification systems that break down tobacco smoke, reduce and eliminate bacteria and viruses and even kill mold. Some other technical solutions include a bedbug solution, a wearable anti-sea and motion sickness, and equipment monitoring the effectiveness of employees’ hand washing routines. Working at sea is very different from working in a land-based environment. Running the medical operation onboard requires firsthand onboard experience, a good understanding of and an appreciation for the multi-cultural environment on board. The majority of VIKAND’s medical personnel have worked at sea and have extensive medical experience both at sea and ashore. So, what is the advantage of working in Fort Lauderdale, Florida? First of all, we are in close proximity to many of our clients that are based here in South Florida, Len explains. Fort Lauderdale and Miami are the world’s biggest home ports for cruise lines. The cost of doing business in Florida is less than in many other places in the US. Excellent international air travel options both to Europe and Latin America. Compared to the West coast, the lesser time difference allows us to communicate with our colleagues in Europe during business hours, as well as interacting with many of our clients that are also based out of Europe. Fort Lauderdale is very international with many European, Canadian and Latin Americans expats calling this home. “I lived in New York for many years and for its size Fort Lauderdale is truly a global melting pot”. Several Scandinavian companies have established themselves in this area and not to forget – Fort Lauderdale is also the yachting capital of the world. With sustainability in mind, VIKAND sells equipment and products with long life-expectancy. VIKAND’s future goal is to expand into commercial shipping and also to become a remote location medical service provider. “Our company and our staff work hard trying to make a real difference to our clients on land and at sea”.
Unitec Marine
Unitec Marine is an engineering company that provides mechanical and electrical services to the oil and marine industry worldwide, both on- and offshore. The three owners started the company in October four years ago, while they were employed on a ship. They came up with an idea to build a company that could do the […]