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Architectural & Engineering Service – Export Marketing Breakfast Seminar

Editor — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:15:04 +0000

Markets in Central Europe

Suzanne Hill Managing Director of Handel Export Consulting will be speaking at an Invest NI event to encourage companies in the Architectural and Engineering Services industry to look at generating new business in export markets. The event will take place on Thursday 26^th November at Invest NI Headquarters in Bedford Square, Belfast.

The current economic downturn has had a significant impact on the local market for many Service Subsectors including Architectural and Engineering Services. Invest NI aims to strengthen the economy by helping businesses to develop and increase their sales in export markets. Over recent years the Services Sector has become an increasingly important part of the Northern Ireland economy and Invest NI is committed to providing the appropriate support for those service businesses that have the potential to trade in export markets.

Handel Export has a strong track record of working with many companies in the Architectural and Engineering Services sector, helping them to successfully enter new export markets. Handel Export has worked with many companies in the sector providing a range of export consultancy assistance including, helping them to refine their service offering, to spot opportunities for individual companies according to their niche areas of expertise, to find partners in their target markets, to help them to market and promote their services in the export market, and also to establish overseas offices.

During the seminar, Suzanne Hill of Handel Export will outline opportunities in this sector in key markets in Central Europe such as Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Slovakia. The seminar will include details on the requirements for becoming an Invest NI client, and an overview of the Invest NI Trade Services that have been developed to help businesses gain entry to export markets, including Trade Missions to key markets in 2010.

The event agenda is as follows:

08.30 Registration for the event and buffet breakfast

09.00 Introduction and overview of Invest NI – George McKinney, Invest NI

09.10 Export opportunities in the construction sector – Noel Johnston, Invest NI

09.30 Successful entry to export markets – Eleanor Butterwick, Invest NI

09.40 Opportunities in Central European markets – Suzanne Hill, Handel Export

10.00 Case study – Edward Quigg, Quigg Golden Limited

10.20 Questions & Answers, next steps – George McKinney

You can book a place at this event by clicking here

This seminar will be of interest to any company in the Architectural and Engineering Services Sector who would like to explore opportunities in markets outside the UK and Ireland.

Take advantage of construction sector opportunities in Poland

Editor — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:26:43 +0000

The Northern Ireland Chamber of Commercewith partners Handel Export Consulting is running an initiative to encourage local companies in the construction sector to consider business opportunities in Poland. The initiative is funded by Invest NI The initiative is designed to give companies fast-track access to business contacts and opportunities in the Polish market and includes a market visit which will take place from the 26th – 30th October 2009. The initiative provides an excellent opportunity for companies to meet with potential customers and decision makers in their individual product or service sector. Poland is the only market in the EU which has not gone into recession and still maintains a rate of 1% growth.

According to the English language new portal in Poland, Polish Market Online, July construction output in Poland was higher by 10.7% y/y which was the best result recorded since August 2008. In the seven months to the end of July construction output was higher by 3.6% y/y. July saw acceleration in construction growth. Construction output was higher by over 10% compared with July 2008 indicating a possible imp[rovement in the situation in the construction market. In July 2009 growth was recorded in all types of construction, with an over 13% increase in civil engineering output including road building.

Opportunities exist in Poland for

Architects
Consulting engineers
Project management companies
Construction contractors
Civil engineering
Building materials
Construction machinery
Materials handling

Through the initiative Handel Export provides the following package of support:

Market research on industry background and potential business partners
Short listing of relevant contacts
Setting up a detailed itinerary of meetings with appropriate contacts in Poland, (each company has their own itinerary of companies to meet with during the market visit)
Translation of the company profile into Polish
Company profile in Polish posted on the project website www.getworkeu.com
Training workshop 1/2 day on how to develop successful business in Poland
Pre-market v9isit briefing
In-market publicity with relevant Trade Associations, business partners etc.
Assistance with follow up after the market visit

Numerous local companies have already taken advantage of past initiatives, this is what they had to say about the assistance received:

“Handel Export reviewed the market and arranged meetings with a number of potential organisations with whom we could form an alliance. Without this advice and research, market entry would have been exceedingly difficult” Liam O’Hagan, Managing Director, Delap & Waller

“The programme was professionally planned by all parties. Meetings were informative and created opportunities and the language and travelling barriers were easily overcome. Generally we had a very successful time. Eamon O’Hare, Managing Director, O’Hare & McGovern

“I would definitely recommend the programme. It is an excellent value for money way to research new markets”. Michael Thompson, Managing Director, T&A Kernoghan

“The Poland programme was very beneficial; from the companies we were matched with we will establish a distributor in Poland”. Amanda Armstrong, McQuaid Engineering

The cost of the package of assistance is £800 plus VAT, the remainder being funded by Invest NI. Travel costs are additional but also benefit from grant assistance from Invest NI – 50% of flight costs plus £100 per night for hotel costs. Further details on participation and an application form can be obtained by contacting Suzanne Hill, Managing Director of Handel Export Consulting – Tel: 028 9092 3378 or info@NOSPAMhandelexport.com (remove NOSPAM before sending).

Handel Export launches trade visit to Poland in October 2009

Editor — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:37:12 +0000

: Map of Poland

This week Handel Export is officially launching a new trade development programme to Poland in cooperation with our partners, the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Invest NI. The purpose of the project is to enable Northern Irish companies to gain fast-track access to contacts and business opportunities in the Polish market and to build trading relationships with their Polish counterparts. The Trade development Programme encompasses a market visit to Warsaw which will take place from the 26th – 30th October 2009.

This project will be the 7th such venture that Handel Export and the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce have carried out to Poland in the last several years. Numerous Northern Irish companies have participated, this has facilitated trading relations with Polish partners. Many Northern Ireland companies have established offices in Poland, sourced Polish suppliers, established distribution networks for their products and services and established strategic alliances with Polish partners.

There are many opportunities in the Polish market for goods and services across a wide range of business sectors. Poland is one of the few countries in the EU to maintain a rate of positive economic growth despite the downturn. In the first quarter of 2009 Poland’s economic growth rate was 0.8% and is anticipated to be 2% next year.

Handel Export provides the following services to participating companies:

Market research on industry background and potential business partners
Short listing of relevant contacts
Setting up a detailed itinerary of meetings with appropriate contacts in Poland (each company has their own itinerary of companies to meet with during the market visit)
Translation of the company profile into Polish
Company profile in Polish posted on the project website www.getworkeu.com
Training workshop (1/2 day) on how to develop successful business in Poland
Pre-market visit briefing
In-market publicity with relevant Trade Associations, business partners etc.
Assistance with follow-up after the market visit

The cost of participation on the programme and the assistance package is £800 plus VAT. Travel costs are additional but also benefit from grant assistance from Invest NI – 50% of flight costs plus £100 per night for hotel costs. Places on the programme are limited to 10 companies.

For an application form contact us at info(at)handelexport.com or by telephone: 028 9092 3378.

Read what our clients have said about our services in our Testimonials Section

Recession in Ireland leading to increased exports

Editor — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:53:05 +0000

Recession in Ireland seems to be leading to increased exports once again…of people. Ireland GDP figures for the last quarter of 2008 show that the economy shrank by 7.5% on last year, giving Ireland the worst full-year economic performance on record. This has coincided with a number of overseas job’s fairs being run in Dublin and Cork, with recruiters from Canada, New Zealand and Australia hoping to attract some of the best skilled workers to fill skills gaps in these countries.

Irish unemployment is currently at 10.4%. The construction scetor has taken a particularly sharp fall and has led to many skilled workers such as bricklayers, plasterers etc. being made redundant. These are some of the workers that countries like Australia are hoping to recruit. The Irish government has predicted that the economy will contract by 6.5% this year, making opportunities overseas ever more attractive.

From Bucharest to Belfast

Editor — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:19:22 +0000

On Monday 23rd March 2009 Handel Export will be facilitating a visit by representatives of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign trade to Belfast. The Ministry of Foreign trade will be represented by Mr Mircea Toader, Director General for Europe and will be accompanied by representatives form the commercial department of the Romanian Embassy in London. The purpose of the visit is to build trading links with Northern Ireland. It is hoped that this visit will be a precursor to future incoming business delegations from Romania, giving the the opportunity to meet and establish trading links with Northern Ireland companies. Romania joined the EU on the 1st January 2009 and has excellent opportunities across a wide range of industry sectors.

Romania has a population of 22 million and offers strong business opportunities in sectors such as construction, infrastructure, environment, ports, agriculture, security, oil and gas, energy, franchising, ICT and tourism. There are particularly good opportunities for companies working in civil engineering and infrastructure as Romania will receive €3.2 billion this year to fund such projects. Romanian companies in this sector are interested in forming joint venture partnerships with companies who have experience in accessing EU funding. In the energy sector, including renewable energy, total investment will rise by up to €35 billion by 2020 according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The European Union has earmarked €350 million for energy efficiency projects in Romania out of which € 150 million is allotted to renewable energy projects from 2007-2013. Romania is already a large producer of bio fuels and there are expectations that Romania my become the main exporter of ‘green fuel’ in Europe. Many major European companies in this filed have already substantial investments in the sector.

In the environmental sector, there are opportunities in water and waste water, waste management, pollution control equipment, soil remediation and air quality control. Agriculture is also an important sector in the Romanian economy employing around 35% of the workforce. 40% of EU funds allocated to Romania from 2007-2013 will be spent in the agricultural sector.

Romania represents an attractive European market for doing business in as it is a developing market and therefore tends to have less market saturation in many sectors, providing longer term opportunities for growth.

Handel Export provides a range of services for companies who want to break into the Romanian market. These include market research, identification of potential partners and customers, sales prospecting and lead generation, organisation of market visits and meeting itineraries as well as preparing company sales and marketing strategies for the Romanian market.

During the visit the Romanian delegation will meet with key business organisations including Invest NI, the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise Northern Ireland.

Companies interested in finding out more about doing business in Romania can contact us for further information and to discuss their particular requirements.

Northern Ireland construction delegation wins success in Polish market

Editor — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:06:03 +0000

Handel Export led a delegation of 14 Northern Irish construction companies to Poland from 18th – 22nd January along with its partner, the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce (NICC). The trade visit was the 6th such project undertaken by Handel Export and NICC in the last few years. Poland remains an attractive market for Northern Irish companies, many of whom have significant numbers of Polish staff at all levels of their organisations. Feedback on the visit and perceptions of opportunities in the Polish market were very positive, with many of the companies already committed to carrying out follow up visits in the next few weeks and months. Participation in a group market visit such as this also enables the companies to exchange contacts and views on the market. The visit was organised to coincide with the BUDMA construction exhibition in Poznan, giving companies another opportunity to see what companies, products and innovations are currently trading in the Polish market.