THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN AND EGYPT

European Programme, France-Israel.

Type of Intervention Finding and qualifying companies.

• Project environment: The European Union and the Israeli Export Institute wished to develop partnerships between European and Israeli companies for reasons of cooperation (joint research and development programme, technology transfers, joint-ventures). A three-year programme was drawn up between three private bureaux specialised in international cooperation: DATEM (France), INPARCO (Belgium) and WAVEHILL (England). This programme primarily concerns SMBs in these sectors: telephony, data transmission, multimedia, biotechnologies, medical equipment, materials, software, electronics.

• Aim of the work undertaken. The DATEM work consisted of:
- Identifying a dozen French companies interested in the Israeli market.
- Defining the partnership policy relative to Israel.
- Accompanying companies with the selected Israeli partners. This work was carried out with an engineer permanently installed in Israel, in liaison with our partner INPARCO.

• Observations. The project resulted in:
- 60 European companies interested in the Israeli market.
- 60 Israeli companies interested in the European market.
- Accompanying twenty French companies to Israel to help with negotiations.
- The negotiation of 21 agreements (transfer of know-how, distribution, exchanges of personnel, etc.).

Work carried out in Egypt in the private industrial sector :

• An SMB (Small-Medium Business), manufacturer of flexible brake and hydraulic pipes for the automobile and site vehicle industries. In-depth diagnosis prepared with our Egyptian Consultant partner IDC, that included in particular some recommendations about the feasibility of export development on the exchange parts market and the resulting need to set up a manufacturing partnership to transfer technology with a European company. Results: recommendations based on knowledge of the most recent technology trends in assisted-steering systems and brake units enabled the audited company to redirect its medium term strategy.

• An SMB, manufacturer of electrostatic powder paint used in the household appliance industry in particular, and metal office furniture. Working with our Egyptian partner IDC we helped in the setting up of three projects:
- The study of export opportunities towards the major Arab countries.
- A programme management training.
- The study, choice and implementation of a computerized system of information management. Results: Several promising markets have been spotted in Morocco, Jordan and the Emirates. This has moreover enabled the company to launch other development projects in the Gulf in partnership with the American group of which they are licence-holders. Management training has led to a considerable improvement in the organisation and the efficiency of top management. A computerized system, specially adapted to the requirements of the industrial markets for electrostatic application of paints, was implemented.

• Management conference on total quality organised by the Private Sector Development Unit in Egypt. We held 5 conferences before audiences of more than 200 Egyptian SMBs in Cairo, Port Said and Mansoura.
We dealt with two subjects:
- The EC label
- The requirements for Egyptian exports towards the European Community

• An SMB, maker of exhaust systems for cars. In-depth diagnosis of the overall manufacturing activity of the company, in conjunction with our Egyptian partner IDC.
Our recommendations mostly concerned: the feasibility of extending sales activities towards Arab countries and the European Community in both the exchange and the OEM markets and the taking into account the increasingly generalised use of catalytic systems.

• la prise en compte de l'application généralisée du pot catalytique.

• An SMB, manufacturer of chassis elements for the automobile industry.
In-depth diagnosis of the manufacturing activity aimed at achieving an acceptable level of quality for the main clients, given the latest certification requirements.
Our recommendations mostly concerned the improvement of painting procedures.
After this diagnosis, we helped the company in the implementation of 3 projects: the improvement of painting procedures which was carried out on the basis of the auto-deposition procedure AAC® of Henkel Technologies, and the preparation for the automobile QS 14000 certification.
Results:
The company has been approved by its main client, General Motors, for the quality of its paint coatings for chassis elements. The Company has now been QS 9000 and ISO 14000 certified.