London ( CNN ) -- More than 20 years after its independence from the Soviet Union , Estonia has become one of Europe 's rare economic success stories . The Baltic state of 1.3 million people joined the eurozone last year , becoming the fastest growing economy within the single currency . Today it has the highest per capita GDP of any of the former Soviet republics . Vesa Kandell is general manager of a plant for ABB , a Swiss industrial group which is one of Estonia 's biggest investors , operating four factories and employing 1000 people . He told CNN 's Richard Quest Estonia has become an important high-tech production hub for ABB during its two decades in the country . This is partly due to having the highly skilled workforce required to produce the company 's generators , used to power everything from wind turbines to electric vehicle chargers . `` We need engineers to design the world class products , we need engineers to run the production , we need a very skilled people to run the operations here on the shop floor , '' he said . `` There [ are ] well-educated engineering people , but also well-educated hard working people for the factory operations . '' Companies operating in Estonia also received valuable support from the government , which imposed no tax on profits reinvested in businesses . `` The business environment here is very modern and liberal . It 's not as hard and slow as many other countries , '' he said . The government here [ has ] a very strong focus on developing the business side . '' In Estonia 's capital , Tallinn , Artjom Sokolov , the chief executive officer of Estonian Cell , said that the company had felt the consequences of joining the eurozone during the Greek debt crisis . The business , which produces pulp for the paper industry , had to pay close attention to the currency markets as its costs were in euros and its prices in dollars . The fluctuating exchange rates had been affecting the business . Sokolov said he kept half his savings in dollars to mitigate the risk of the euro failing . `` I believe in a couple of years , maybe four to five years time , there is a likelihood that there is not such a euro as we currently have it , '' he said . He said western Europe had something to learn from the work ethic of Estonia and other eastern European countries . `` The welfare state is over , people have to accept that the good life is over . They have to start working in western Europe , because strikes will not help , '' he said . `` What is good in the case of Estonia is people have n't forgotten how to work . ''
Estonia joined the eurozone last year and is its fastest growing economy . Swiss group ABB says it has skilled workers and business-friendly government . The head of Estonian Cell is not confident about the future of the single currency . He says western Europe needs to adopt a stronger work ethic and farewell the welfare system .