Past events

The Vice-president of the European Commission Antonio Tajani has joined forces with national governments to stimulate investment, business & technology opportunities in the European Union.In the framework of the EUROPE 2020 Strategy for Growth, Vice-president Tajani will support the organisation of investors’ conferences and dedicated business-to-business meetings in European countries.Within this frame a mission to Sevilla (Region of Andalusia) and Merida (Region of Extremadura) will be organised.•    Spain: 3 April in Sevilla, 4 April 2014 in MeridaDeadline for registration to the B2B meetings: 26 March 2014Details about the Spanish Mission are available here for Sevilla and here for Merida.Registration to the B2B meetings for both events can be done here.Target sectors in SevillaAerospaceAgro-foodBiotechnology and healthConstruction, mineral and stones (materials)Creative industriesEnvironmentInformation and Communication TechnologiesIntelligent energySecurity and defenseTourism and cultural heritageTarget sectors in MeridaAgro-food and auxiliary industriesBio-healthInformation and Communication TechnologiesIntelligent energyTourism, cultural heritage and environmentTransport and logistics

EEN Italian partner Confindustria Sicilia is pleased to inform about their forthcoming B2B Networking Event.   This event is organized in the framework of a Mission of European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani to Italy, with the support of the Enterprise Europe Network Italy and the Sicilian Region.   This Mission to Sicily will include a conference on March 27th, in Palermo, with the objective of making European/non-European companies aware about opportunities in and from Italy, specifically, Sicily.   The aim of the B2B Networking event (to be held on March 28th) is to promote business partnerships (commercial, technological and research)  between Italian - especially Sicilian -  and European/non-European companies.   High potential sectors, developed by technology-oriented Sicilian clusters, were chosen as key areas for the business-to-business meetings:   - Agrofood - Bio Agrofood - Maritime industry, nautical sector and fishing - Intelligent Energy - Tourism and Cultural Heritage - Handicraft - Textiles and clothing, fashion - Biotechnology, biomedical - ICTs - Construction, green building - Creative IndustryFor further information & registration procedures www.b2match.eu/M4G-italy-sicily

Future Match 2014 brokerage event will be held during the information and communication technology (ICT) fair CeBIT (hall 9, booth C40) in Hannover, Germany. This is the 16th edition of the international brokerage event organised by the Enterprise Europe Network.Over 370 companies and research organisations from 33 countries participated in Future Match 2013 and booked over 1.250 bilateral meetings.The registration will be possible from the 1st December 2013 until the 23rd February 2014.For details and registration procedures please visit the website.http://www.b2match.eu/futurematch2014

DG AGRI a division of the European Commission will be leading a group of EU companies operating in the food and beverage sectors at Foodex Japan from 5-7 March 2014.The delegation will be exhibiting in Hall 5, stand number 5B02 and is welcoming all Japanese visitors to experience and taste the best of EU agricultural products.Here below some of the participant companies supported by Enterprise Europe Network.The companies catalogue is available here.NameCountryWebsiteAimsDeutsches Weintor eGGermanywww.weintor.deOffers wines, diabetic wines, sparkling wines - from Germany/PalatinateTZIVANI SA  BIO WINESGreecewww.tzivani.euOffers wines and organic wines.MONINI SPAItalywww.monini.comLooking For Buyers And Operators In The Retail And Horeca Sector.MONINI is a leading company in the production of olive oil, nationally recognized as a premium Italian brand. Herdade do SobrosoPortugalwww.herdadedosobroso.ptLooking for Agent/importer to represent and sell our Portuguese wine in Japan. Red, white and Rosé still wines.  Brands: AnAs, Sobro and Herdade do Sobroso.  Alentejo wine region.GEA d.d.Sloveniawww.gea.siThe companies primary activities include production of vegetable oils and fats.FOOBESPAIN,S.L.Spainwww.foobespain.comOffers wines from Spain and Italy. Also can offer services in Spain to find producers in wines sector.Beloyana s.a.EEN Business Offer ProfileSpainwww.fincaduernas.comOffers organic extra virgin olive oil. Their oils have won several awards: 2011 Bronze @  Los Angeles Olive Oil Competition, 2012 Bronze Award @ Monde Selection,  2013 Gold Medal as Best Fruity Oil  in all Cordoba Region

SMAGUA 2014 point of encounter for the water technology and irrigation sector. The 21st editon of SMAGUA, the International Water Exhibition, held at Zaragoza Exhibition Centre, will bring together, once again, leading companies in the water industry and professionals interested in finding out all about the latest technologies, equipment and systems for the management of this crucial resource.EEN Spanish partners are organising a brokerage event during the fair.The covered sectors are:- International Water and Irrigation Exhibition: Water extraction, piping and storing, water processing and treatment, instruments, analysis and automation, irrigation, engineering, conusltancy, and service compnies- Environment Exhibition: Energy environment, water environment, atmosphere environment, waste treatment, environment engineering, other environment activities.See the presentation leaflet and the websites for more details. SMAGUA 2014 site: www.smagua.es  Brokerage event site: www.iems.es

More than 20 top-trending technology offers from Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) are exhibited in TokyoA Spanish EEN partner the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has attended the International Nanotechnology Exhibition & Conference in Tokyo ‘nano tech’ for the last five years. CSIC is the largest Spanish public research entity in Spain and the third in Europe. With more than 15,000 employees (8,000 scientific researchers) and 128 research centers distributed throughout the country it covers all fields of knowledge: Humanities and Social Sciences, Biology and Biomedicine, Natural Resources, Agricultural Sciences, Physical Science and Technologies, Materials Science and Technology, Food Science and Technology and Chemical Science and Technology.For this edition nano tech 2014 , CSIC brings a renewed set of technological offers for applications in several areas including developments in energy harvesting, batteries and photovoltaics, biomedical,  photodetectors and other sensing devices, measurement, nanocomposites, coatings, graphene obtaining, etc. A set of technological offers able to be implemented in the top industrial process and technologies are offered.  Industrial partners interested in a patent license and the reception of the associated know-how for its exploitation or agreeing R&D collaboration are foreseen.CSIC is looking forward to welcoming visitors at the Spain booth 5Q-17.For more information contact:Javier Maira, j.maira@orgc.csic.esJuan Echevarría,  jeche@ifca.unican.esNext-Tip is a spin-off of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Their aim is to fabricate high added value Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) tips specially designed for high resolution in dynamic modes.Their technology is based on the coating of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) tips with nanoparticles of controlled size and chemical composition. The small size of the nanoparticles deposited (2-3 nm) provides high spatial resolution and sensitivity. As the deposition is performed under Ultra High Vacuum conditions the purity of the nanoparticles is guaranteed and provides the chemical functionalization of the tip (i.e.: for uses in Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy, KPFM). In resume, the nanoparticles deposited at the end of the tips do act as the final probes in microscopy, enhancing the spatial resolution with the intrinsic physical and chemical properties of the nanoparticles. Apart from this, these tips present a long-life performance, significantly longer than conventional tips. This is particularly interesting when measuring in ambient controlled conditions such as ultra-high vacuum or low temperature, where the duration of a tip is a key issue.The company is looking for collaborations to develop new products applicable to new emerging SPM modes. In addition, they are seeking industrial partners with technological problems for future applications of our products or development of new ones. David López, info@next-tip.comLidia Martinez, lidia.martinez@next-tip.com http://www.next-tip.com

nano tech Japan, the world’s largest nanotech fair, will take place for the 13th time from January 29 -31, 2014 in Tokyo. Under the theme of “Life and Green”, nano tech has several symposiums, featuring “Regenerative Medicine, Personalized Medicine” and “Hydrogen Energy Society”. nano tech is the premier event for nanotechnology developments not only in Asia but also worldwide. The event attracts more than 600 exhibitors from around 20 countries and regions. More than 45,000 visitors come to discover the latest nano materials, nano fabrication technology and evaluation & measurement. The use of the "ICS Business Matching System" will create new opportunities for synergies between high technology and products across market borders, while accelerating open innovation. nano tech 2014 - The13th International Nanotechnology Exhibition & Conference Date&Time:   Jan.29(Wed.) -Jan.31(Fri.), 2014　10:00 - 17:00 Venue:          East Exhibition Hall 4, 5, 6 & Conference Tower, Tokyo Big Sight, Japan   Exhibition fees (space fees) Commercial firms:  336,000 JPY /9m2 Public Organizations, Overseas Pavilions & University Labs: 168,000 JPY/9m2 Booth Packages (in addition to space): from 115,500 JPY (9m2 ) Business Matching: Exhibitors: 3 personal ID’s included per 9m2  exhibition space. Visitors: 15,000 JPY per ID For more information please visit http://www.nanotechexpo.jp/

Since 2011 Technology Centre ASCR started a successful co-operation with EU-Japan Centre for Industrial co-operation on missions of Czech companies to the Nanotech exhibition fair held in Tokyo each year.Within the framework of the Enterprise Europe Network international support for SMEs and research institutes, Technology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic offers a space for presenting innovative technologies of their clients from nanotechnology sector.Czech research institutes established an intensive collaboration with Japanese and Canadian companies which assures not only technology transfer of innovation ideas to a certain solution or product, but the activities also bring positive changes to production, business and research development processes. Japan companies can therefore also benefit from EU-funded help.The Czech mission for 2014 is just now under preparation and Japanese partners are kindly invited to the Czech pavilion. See the attachment for details on the participants companies. 

EU Business in Japan portal lauchedWhen seeking to do business abroad, it is essential to first get to know the country you are targeting. Awareness about Japan’s politics, economics and social environment is a considerable asset. To help you build your knowledge about Japan, and in accordance with the project of the Directorate-General for Enterprise & In­dustry of the European Commission to develop a global platform providing EU businesses with relevant information about business with third countries, the EU-Japan Centre has developed this online information portal for European companies seeking to break into the Japanese market. It aims to bring together and make available online all in­formation that could be beneficial to EU companies wishing to develop business in or with Japan.To gain full access to the information contained on this site, as well as to the numerous side activities, you must be a member.To be eligible as a member, you should work:either for an EU company wishing to work with/in Japan and must be the end-user of the information/services made available;or for a non-profit organisation aiming at supporting EU companies in their internationalisation process with Japan.For more details and registration please visit the site.http://www.eubusinessinjapan.eu

The Japanese Manufacturer and the Swedish Designer On 18 December, 2013, a leading Japanese design company specializing in stationeries, Designphil released a plastic zipper bag with a Swedish design pattern in Japan.  Their product will be sold all over Japan, in major lifestyle shops and in design-oriented stationery shops, such as TOKYU HANDS, LOFT, Itoya, and so on. Swedish designer unit, Edholm Ullenius have offered their 12 design patterns to Designphil. The designer’s name will be clearly stated on sales collateral and the product webpage of Designphil. Designphil produces both product and commercial design for communication tools such as letter pads, greeting cards, coloured paper, clips, and so on.  They often have won design awards in Japan and abroad (Design Plus Award, Germany.) They have an affiliated company focusing on distribution of personal stationery, MDS. First contact of the Designphil to the EU-Japan Centre (EEN Japan) was made on 9 November, 2012. At the end of November, Designphil submitted their partnership requests to the EU-Japan Centre. The EU-Japan Centre submitted the request to the Enterprise Europe Network, and simultaneously informed the Scandinavian EEN colleagues of the request. In spite of the holiday season, Swedish EEN contact point, Invest in Skåne AB responded quickly and picked up 5 designers as potential partners. At the end of December 2012, Designphil made a tentative decision on a designer, and began discussing the contract details. In February 2013, Designphil signed a design contract with a Swedish designer unit, Edholm Ullenius, as a result of Enterprise Europe Network partnering support.  “We had a very limited time to search for potential designers who could offer us Nordic design.  Enterprise Europe Network has done a great job finding a perfect designer for our products in a month.” said Mr. Shinsuke Nakamura, corporate office and producer in design center, Designphil.    According to Mr. Nakamura, in the usual designer search process, it often takes them 3 months to find a good designer for their products.  In the search process, they use all available channels such as agents, personal networks of their employees, internet, and etc. The most important factor for Designphil was to find a perfect designer in a limited timeframe. They were originally planning to release a new product in July 2013, one of the 2 stationery release peaks in Japan, at the occasion of biggest stationery tradeshow “International Stationery and Office Products Fair Tokyo.” (However, with other business factors, they changed their product release plan to December, the second peak of stationery sales.) “We record all activities and time spent for the project for cost management and performance measurement.  If we can ask the 3rd party to search the designers, and if it is faster than the usual process, it would be idealistic for us.  EEN offered us the perfect solution for the partnership search.” “More important than efficiency, it was necessary for us to find a GOOD designer, who can make our product looks attractive and edgy.” “I think our expectations of the designer are well described in the partnership request form, and accordingly, the Swedish EEN partner picked up good candidates for us” “We have in-house designers.  However, for this zipper bag project, we definitely needed a taste of Nordic culture.  The design of the Edholm Ullenius was beyond our expectation, and made our product great.  If we found a good feedback from consumers about the Edholm Ullenius design, we will apply their design to other products, and definitely would like to collaborate with them again.”     Source: EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation – EEN Japan

The Vice-president of the European Commission Antonio Tajani has joined forces with national governments to stimulate investment, business & technology opportunities in the European Union.In the framework of the EUROPE 2020 Strategy for Growth, Vice-president Tajani will support the organisation of investors’ conferences and dedicated business-to-business meetings in the following European countries:•    Belgium (Wallonia region): 18-19 February 2014Details and registration procedures about the Belgian Mission are available here•    Greece (Athens): 10-11 March 2014Details and registration procedures about the Greek Mission are available here•    Italy: 13-14 March 2014 in Naples / CampaniaDetails and registration procedures about the Campania Mission are available here•    Italy: 27-28 March 2014 in Palermo/SicilyDetails and registration procedures about the Sicily Mission are available here•    Spain: 3 April in Sevilla, 4 April 2014 in MeridaDetails and registration procedures about the Spanish Mission are available here for Sevilla and here for Merida.These conferences and business meetings will offer considerable business and technology opportunities to European companies but also to enterprises located beyond European borders.

Driving Competitiveness in the EU- the EU-Japan Centre new training programme on Lean and Japanese best practices to start this fall in Europe -As a spin-off of the already successful World Class Manufacturing training programme in Japan, the EU-Japan Centre is launching "Driving Competitiveness in the EU" targeting EU managers working with Lean, best practices and in the manufacturing division of their company, and looking for improvement of their company’s competitiveness.This programme combines a visit in Europe to a manufacturing plant of an EU company implementing Japanese best practices and an “introduction to lean / becoming lean" lecture.The visits are organised indipendently from each other and will be held at:LEGO Systems A/S– Denmark's world-famous toy manufacturer on 14-15 November 2013. (Deadline for applications: 11 Oct 2013)Kostwein Maschinenbau GmbH – an Austrian machine and component manufacturer on 19-20 February 2014. (Deadline for applications: 10 Jan 2014)For more details on the programme schedule and application form:http://www.eu-japan.eu/detail-business-programmes/Driving-Competitiveness-in-the-EUOr contact:Alessandro Perna+32 (0)2 282 0042a.perna(at)eu-japan.euThe EU-Japan Centre is co-financed by the European Commission (DG - Enterprise & Industry) and the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry (METI).

The BioJapan - Asia's Premier partnering event for the biotechnology industry - has played an important role in facilitating interaction between Japanese and international companies/organizations and stimulating new business opportunities.Almost all Japanese pharmaceutical and biotech companies will gather in the 15th BioJapan.EEN Japan is cooperating with the fair organizers to provide a special package to EU SMEs interested to visit the fair and registering to the partnering service through EEN Japan.EU SMEs will be able to benefit of:1. Company's logo and description (Up to 300 characters for each company) on a special website. Companies which have registered for the BioJapan partnering are usually listed on the website just as partnering participating companies. In addition to the listing, companies via the EEN will be more exposed to visitors and exhibitors via a presence on the special website.(FYI) 2012 partnering participating companies:http://www.ics-expo.jp/biojapan/report.html#partnering2. Special discount for a package which consists of one partnering account and a 15-minute presentation at the partnering conference.It usually costs JPY155, 000 but the fair organizers will offer this package at the cost of JPY120,000 (more than 20% discount).To learn more about the package: http://www.ics-expo.jp/biojapan/presenters.html Interested EU SMEs should take contact with EEN Japan and we will provide them with the needed info to benefit from the special package. 

Contact-Contract 2013 matchmaking event, held in Brno (Czech Republic) on 8th to 9th October 2013 at International Engineering Fair (MSV) (http://www.bvv.cz/en/msv/)is offering you a unique opportunity to increase your competitiveness and identify new markets and business partners. With the assistance of the connect matchmaking platform, exhibitors at leading industrial trade fair in Central Europe (with annual participation reaching more than 1.500 exhibitors) and visitors from all of the world can make sure that they use the event to meet tomorrow's business and cooperation partners. Contact-Contract is a common project of Brno Regional Chamber of Commerce and other Czech & foreign partners belonging to Enterprise Europe Network. HOW IT WORKS • Registered participants will be able to request unique individual business meetings with other participants • Meeting requests must be confirmed by both sides in order to be scheduled • Shortly before the event, each participant will receive a personalized meeting schedule. HOW TO REGISTER Click on the registration link. http://kk2013.converve.com/p_registration.php?lang=en Fill in a short profile describing your company and the products or services you are offering and/or looking for. Via your unique entrance code and password, you will be automatically advised by the system for your ideal appointment. If you are interested in participation or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact : Mr. Radek Kopecky, e-mail: export@rhkbrno.cz, Tel: +420 532 194 922. More information, terms & conditions and list of registered companies is available at the below link http://kk2013.converve.com/p_index.php?lang=en

Companies from Saitama city, capital of Saitama Pref. in Tokyo metropolitan area will be represented at the MEDICA/COMPAMED 2013 (20-23 November, Dusseldorf, Germany) with eight companies from the area of medical related technologies. You are welcome to meet them during a matchmaking event organized by NRW Europe on behalf of the Healthcare Sector Group of the Enterprise Europe Network and/or at their booth.Saitama City promotes industrial exchange and collaboration with one of the German major medical cluster, Forum MedTech Pharma with the aim of facilitating business tie-ups to create new industrial and stimulate business.And Saitama City has planned Saitama Initiative for Medical Manufacturing aims to create an infrastructure that integrates knowledge, experience and technology of R&D-oriented manufacturing companies and the clinical and academic institution, through building a platform for wide-range cooperation in the medical equipment sector in the Tokyo metropolitan area.The program aims to support R&D oriented manufacturers to newly enter and/or expand business in the medical manufacturing.To promote opportunity for business matching, the following Saitama region companies will exhibit at MEDICA/COMPAMED.Kaneko Manufacturing: booth No. Hall 16 / B31Tokyo Titanium: booth No. Hall 16 / A39 (EEN Partnership request: http://www.een-japan.eu/content/japanese-titanium)Nippon Serbig: booth No. Hall 16 / B39Goto Precision Engineering:  booth No. Hall 08b / F26 (EEN Partnership request: http://www.een-japan.eu/content/japanese-metal-stamping）UCHIDA:  booth No. Hall 16 / A39ACTMENT:  booth No. Hall 16 / A31ICST Corporation:   booth No. Hall 16 / C38NIPPON PISTON RING:  booth No. Hall 08b / F26Please visit MEDICA official site and check Exhibitor & Product Search, you can find contact person of each company. http://www.medica-tradefair.com/cipp/md_medica/custom/pub/show,oid,28457/lang,2/ticket,g_u_e_s_t/~/Companies_Products.htmlOther information links: Saitama City Foundation for Business Creation http://www.sozo-saitama.or.jp/en/en.htmlMEDICA/COMPAMED http://www.medica-tradefair.com/Healthcare Brokerage Event MEDICA 2013 http://www.b2match.eu/medica2013  

German EEN partner Handwerk International Baden-Württemberg will organise matchmaking event during EMO Hannover.The matchmaking event will offer the exhibitors and visitors of EMO Hannover the opportunity to- find new customers, suppliers and cooperation partners- present themselves to visitors and exhibitors in the online catalogue- select the profiles of other participants before the event and meet them during the fairSector: metalworking industry

(1)    Sector: Environment & Energy-related Technologies Dates: 3-7 February 2014 Application deadline: 27 September 2013 More information: http://www.eu-gateway.eu/environment-and-energy(2)    Sector: Interior Design Dates: 24-28 March 2014 Application deadline: 25 October 2013 More information: http://www.eu-gateway.eu/interior-design-japan(3) Sector: Healthcare & Medical Technologies Dates: 26-30 May 2014 Application deadline: 6 December 2013 More information: http://www.eu-gateway.eu/healthcare-and-medical