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UBIFRANCE UK News n° 15 - 20 February 2009
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The Trade Commission has five main departments, apart from the press bureau, i.e. engineering and industrial goods (which includes transport and energy), consumer goods (which does not cover food and drink), agri-foodstuffs (which covers food and drink, including wine), services (which includes real estate, for instance), and ICT (which includes internet technology and telecommunications alongside IT). To give an idea of the width and breadth of areas that the Trade Commission covers, in the last few months, we have issued press releases in relation to B2B events organised by the Mission Economique in wine (for a French wine growers’ day in Manchester) and in cosmetics (for a B2B event in London). The Trade Commission has other events and trade shows lined up in fields as diverse as internet technology (for Internet World), speciality foods (to be held at the French Ambassador’s Residence in Central London), rail transport (with Railtex), and the construction industry (with the Ecobuild 2009 trade show in early March). Meanwhile, the press bureau will continue to issue press releases for, and provide a range of other PR services to private-sector French companies as well as institutional partners (such as the chambers of commerce and industry or the regional authorities in France), which are interested in expanding their activities (or those of the companies they represent) in the UK. I can confirm that the press trip we organised to Saint-Lary in the Pyrenees was a great success (22-25 January). A delegation of four British journalists and one photographer spent a few days in the mountain resort and succeeded in surviving, unscathed, the terrible storms that hit south-western France just as they were about to leave the region! As we all know, in public relations and in journalism, timing is of the essence. (In fact, the journalists got back to the UK just in time for the blizzards that hit much of the country, a few weeks ago, but for one couple who stayed behind, since they are settled in south-western France.) In the coming months, we have several exciting events planned (and, hopefully, no further Acts of God in the pipeline), including a wine-tasting session at a prestigious Central London venue on 11 March, which will be focused on quality wines from the Bordeaux region (Cercle Rive Droite). Equally, the promotion of the island region of Corsica will give us the opportunity to invite journalists working for food-and-drink magazines to some appealing events. We also have a slightly unusual press trip coming up in the field of dress-making, which will take journalists to Western France (Nantes and its region). Members of the press will be able to meet the specialist companies which actually make those dresses and other designer clothes that fashion models, in the limelight of the catwalk, sashay in. Indeed, fashion designers in the UK know that they can rely on the savoir-faire of highly skilled dress-makers based in that part of France. The press trip is organised, in France, by the regional trade body known as APHO, which is the Association pour la Promotion de l’Habillement de l’Ouest. It will be followed by the French Fashion Day organised by the Trade Commission in London on 22 April. If any of the events above is of interest to you, do get in touch with Kate Ambler, press officer, who will be delighted to answer your questions and have you on board. I can reveal that Kate is, herself, rather looking forward to modelling a few of the haute-couture dresses in question, if given a chance during the press trip. We all know that the current economic situation is hardly rosy, and I hope that your magazine (or other media) is holding up in the present downturn. We believe there are still many opportunities for French companies in the UK, and will continue to support their drive into the British market and their co-operation with domestic players. We look forward to continuing our fruitful collaboration with the trade press and other media in the UK right through 2009. The next issue of UBIFRANCE UK News will be sent you round mid-April. Philip Jolly Manager — Press Office Mission Economique UBIFRANCE, the French Trade Commission in London
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ESC Rennes Business School, a graduate school in Brittany, offers students a choice of eight international Masters programmes entirely taught in English. One third of ESC Rennes’ students are non-French, and they come from 42 countries.
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The French Pavilion at Ecobuild (in London) in March 2009, which will showcase innovative companies in the field of environmentally friendly construction, is supported by the French Trade Commission. The participating French companies will be putting the spotlight on a range of eco-friendly building solutions.
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Together with its local partners, the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of the département of Doubs is organising ECONOMIA in Montbéliard (Eastern France). The two-day (25-26 March) B2B event will enable companies from outside the region to meet locally based players in this cluster of high-tech excellence focused on engineering, R&D and sub-contracting. |
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Rapco Electronics Ltd is to merge with Orolia’s Spectracom unit, offering a unique level of local service and support to customers throughout the UK and Ireland, and across Europe as a whole and North America. Orolia is a specialist in time & frequency technology. |
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The Trade Commission of the French Embassy in London will showcase the best of French ocean technology at Ocean Business 2009. Ocean Business, which is held every two years at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton (England), will take place from 31 March to 2 April 2009. |
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Generix Group, a software developer and provider of inter- and intra-company collaborative solutions, has added a number of event-monitoring functions — designed using Systar technology — to its TradeXpress B2B integration platform. |
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UBIFRANCE, the French export-support agency, organised a conference on the latest developments in wireless and contactless technology during the Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona (Spain) in mid-February. The conference focused on six French competitiveness clusters. UBIFRANCE also organised the French Pavilion at the Mobile World Congress. |
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bioMérieux, a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, offers a wide range of solutions to fight sepsis — the most common underlying cause of death in non-coronary intensive-care units. |
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In February, the Trade Section of the French Embassy in London held a trade event for 10 innovative French cosmetics companies, which seek to develop commercial links in the UK. The event included conferences and B2B meetings. |
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Novacel, a specialist in surface protection, has just opened a new sales office in Prague, which will cover the Czech and Slovak markets. Novacel develops, produces and markets adhesive films for temporary surface protection. |
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In partnership with French clusters CIM and Sporaltec (mountain resorts, sports, leisure and outdoor equipment), the Savoie Chamber of Commerce & Industry supported businesses from the Rhône-Alpes region in their attending the ISPO WINTER trade fair. In February, 25 companies exhibited under the ‘The French Alps’ banner in Munich (Germany). |
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The Trade Commission of the French Embassy in the UK will unveil the French Pavilion (Stand 516) at the Railtex trade show, to be held in London from 10 to 12 March 2009. The French Pavilion will showcase eight innovative French companies from across the rail sector. |
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Fortal, a specialist in rail maintenance, will attend the Railtex trade show, which will be held in London from 10 to 12 March 2009. The company will be part of the French Pavilion. |
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SITL Real Time, the leading European event in the transport and logistics industry, will be held in Paris from 24 to 26 March 2009. The organisers of the show, which will focus on logistics performance, have already booked 80% of the exhibition space. |
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For further information, please contact : |
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If you do not wish to receive further information from us please send us an email to the following address: contact.ftpb@ubifrance.fr