FTPB - News

FTPB News n° 14 - 18 December 2008

Since the September issue of FTPB News was addressed to you, we have had a busy three months with, among other things, two press trips that were successfully organised by the press bureau.

The first one took place from 13 to 14 October. It gave us the opportunity to send a delegation of British journalists to the NEM Summit in Saint-Malo (near Rennes, in Brittany). The networked & electronic media (NEM) event was backed by Brittany’s regional authorities and by the Rennes Atalante Science Park (the high-technology cluster based in the region).

The second press trip took place from 15 to 17 October, in another part of Brittany — the region of Quimper, Concarneau and Brest. Supported by the council of the département of Finistère, it enabled two British journalists to discover the region’s textiles and clothing sector.

On 3 November, the press bureau assisted the French Embassy’s Press Office in preparing the stay in London of Ms Anne-Marie Idrac, French Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, who was coming to Britain on an official visit. In the morning, Ms Idrac came to see us and our colleagues at the Mission Economique (ME), the Trade Section of the French Embassy in London; in the afternoon, an event was organised at the French Embassy and the whole of FTPB’s team was invited to attend; finally, in the evening, FCCGB, the French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain, had their annual dinner for the awards of Best French & British Exporter of the Year (with two categories for each country).

FCCGB was celebrating its sixth annual Franco-British Business Awards (FBBA). Together with Ms Idrac, Ms Susan Haird, Deputy Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), were Guests of Honour and Keynote Speakers at the event. The winners represented a fascinating cross-section of British and French industry and, contrary to what some might have expected, high-tech nuts and bolts were on the British side, while smart services were championed by French participants.

The winners of the Exporter of the Year awards were Stainless Steel (UK) and Toluna (France). The Achievement of the Year award winners were Specialist Technologies Aerospace Group (UK) and Smartbox (France). The event, which was held at the Mayfair Hotel in London, was attended by 150 members of the Franco-British community.

Stainless Steel Fasteners Ltd, the UK Exporter of the Year, is a leading manufacturer of high-quality non-standard bolts, nuts, washers and fasteners that are suitable for even the most hostile environments. Specialist Technologies Aerospace Group (STAG), which is a member of GIFAS (France) and SBAC (UK), was the winner of the UK Achievement of the Year award. The company provides spares and stock management to the aerospace and defence industries.

Toluna plc, the French Exporter of the Year, successfully serves the market-research sector as an independent provider of software specialising in web-based market-research panels and online surveys. Finally, Smartbox, the winner of the award for French Achievement of the Year, is an established provider of gift-experience packages, including sporting activities, spa breaks and travel.

November and December have also been busy preparing next year — we already have a couple of press trips scheduled for the early part of 2009, including one to the Saint-Lary ski resort in the Pyrenees. Anyone writing about skiing, snowboarding and other daring pursuits of this nature ought to get in touch with Kate Ambler, FTPB Press Officer (who is hoping to get a pair of skis for Christmas, so that she may join the journalists on the pistes).

Obviously, there are uncertainties as to what next year has in store, given the very difficult economic and financial conditions seen in the last few months, particularly in the UK. We will have a better idea of the anticipated level of activity, at the press bureau, by the end of February (or even March) — usually, companies finalise their PR campaign plans in the course of the first quarter, so as to have them implemented between March and November.

Last but not least, and as a result of a long transition process, the French Technology Press Bureau (or FTPB) — a separate entity coming under UBIFRANCE, France’s export-support agency, set up in the early 1980s — will cease to exist in its current form as of 1 January 2009.

You will be glad to read that the press bureau is not disappearing, however: from January, the team will be fully integrated into Mission Economique, to be known, from then on, as Mission Economique UBIFRANCE (MEU) London, under the leadership of its new CEO, Henri Baissas.

The press bureau is set to constitute a press-relations and communication department within MEU London, which I will run with the continued and valued assistance of Kate Ambler, Press Officer, and Estelle Atayi, Project Manager, and our Editorial Assistant (currently a smart young man called Luc Bouffet).

In truth, little will change as far as you are concerned, and we are still going to strive to respond to your requests for information fast and well, as much as possible, and to offer you interesting events and press trips. More than ever, we will be in a position to draw on the sectorial expertise of our colleagues within the various departments at Mission Economique in London.

The next issue of FTPB News will probably be called something different, but we have not had time yet to decide what that will be. The press bureau’s next bulletin is expected to come out in the early part of February 2009.

Till then, together with my colleagues, I wish you and your family a good end-of-year break, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Philip Jolly, Managing Director, FTPB

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