Archive for construction
Big profits could be unearthed in Chile
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Chile is an excellent market for UK and Irish businesses
Chile is a country that has featured prominently in the news over the last few months, firstly due to the earthquake and secondly for the amazing good news story of the rescue of the 33 miners. These events and the subsequent visit of Chile’s President Sebastian Piñera to London have dramatically raised the profile of a country that until now has been relatively overlooked in terms of UK and Irish businesses interested in expanding overseas.
I have had the good fortune to work extensively with the Chilean market and to have travelled there frequently for business. I have worked in 55 different world markets and Chile certainly rates in my top 5 favourite places to do business. I first travelled out to Chile in 1998, working for a Northern Irish company who had ambitious growth plans for Latin America. I had at this stage already been working overseas throughout Europe and South Africa, but for me Latin America was something really exotic and I didn’t quite know what to expect. I think I expected llamas and panpipes but what I got was the modern capital city Santiago which would not look out of place somewhere in Spain or Italy. There is a distinctly European feel to the cities in Chile, both in how they look and how business is conducted there – much of the population is made up of immigrants from Europe.
Target exports towards Brazilian powerhouse
Posted by: | CommentsThe following article also appears in today’s Irish News www.irishnews.com
To offset the impact the recession is having on the market, businesses are being encouraged to consider exporting their goods and services to regions that are experiencing growth. Suzanne Hill, director of Handel Export looks at key traits of the Brazilian economy.
Brazil is a huge country, with a land mass that is almost twice that of Europe. It has a population of around 195 million and unlike the rest of Latin America where Spanish prevails, Portuguese is the primary language. Sao Paulo is the main industrial and commercial centre and has a population of around 18 million people. It is the largest market in Latin America and is ranked 10th in the world in terms of GDP at present. However it is anticipated that in the coming year, Brazil will overtake Italy to become the 9th largest economy in the world. In the last decade, the country has experienced massive upward social mobility, which has resulted in a growing middle class. Recently the country’s former president Lula da Silva predicted that Brazil would become the world’s fifth largest economy by 2020.
So how can companies tap into this growth? There are strong business opportunities across a wide spectrum of sectors, such as education and life sciences, consumer goods, telecoms, food and drink, water and power to name a few. Brazil is also set to host the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016. Both of these events require an expansive supporting infrastructure – especially when you consider that there is approximately 1.6 million kilometres of state, municipal and federal highways in Brazil, only 12% of which is paved. Prior to the games, Brazil will be investing significantly in developing its road infrastructure. This presents a range of opportunities for construction companies.
Construction Industry Offers Training Programme to Build International Business
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Winning construction contracts abroad
The Construction Employers Federation has teamed up with Suzanne Hill of Handel Export Consulting to deliver a training programme on conducting business overseas. The course which starts on the 29 September 2010 will provide 15 individuals from the construction industry, with an opportunity to explore how business principles should be applied in different markets.
Mark Browne from the Construction Employer’s Federation explains the importance of building skills in this area:
“The local construction industry has been severely affected by the recession, and has experienced a greater fall than at any time since the early 1980s. In order for construction companies to maintain their cash flow and sustain employment, they are looking to markets that are experiencing growth and investigating opportunities that exist.”
Suzanne Hill from Handel Export will be presenting at an event being held by the Construction Employer’s Federation (CEF) of Northern Ireland on Friday 27th August. Handel Export is working with the Construction Employer’s Federation to deliver a training course for construction sector companies on ‘Winning construction contracts abroad’. Suzanne will give an outline of her experience in the construction sector abroad as well as an outline of the 7 module practical training course which aims to help construction companies gear up for winning contracts in overseas markets and to accelerate market entry and business development.
The key to your construction business surviving and prospering, as we move through and out of recession, is the set of skills possessed by your management team. The current economic climate has lead to a reduction in training within the industry. To address this training deficit CEF is launching a Business Improvement Programme funded in partnership with CITB ConstructionSkills. It aims to address key issues faced by both large and smaller firms.
If you are a senior manager interested in this course or other training courses on the Business Improvement Programme, we invite you to attend this brief to be held on the morning of Friday 27th August at the CEF, 143 Malone Road, Belfast. The briefing will run from 09.30 – 12.20. To register for the event please contact Kathryn Webb kathrynw@NOSPAMcefni.co.uk (remove NOSPAM before sending) or contact Handel Export for full training course details and to register your interest.
Export success in Denmark for local kitchen company
Posted by: | CommentsHandel Export client CKOS Kitchens has recently won significant new business and has just appointed 5 new wholesalers in the Danish market to sell their wide range of kitchens. CKOS Kitchens, established just over a year ago, specialises in bespoke kitchens to the wholesale market. Their main customer base is on the UK mainland where they have already secured over 100 wholesalers in their first year of trading.
