Gyeonggi Small & Medium Businesses Fascinate Europe
(Published February 21, 2012)

-Outstanding results achieved from participation in Ambiente 2012 in Frankfurt
-Ten companies participated in the expo and discussed USD 22.58 million in exports

◇ Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Small & Medium Business Center announced on February 20 that provincial small and medium-sized businesses discussed USD 22.58 million in exports at Ambiente 2012 in Frankfurt, Germany. A company official taking part in the fair explains his product to buyers. ⓒ G-News Plus

Gyeonggi Province small & medium companies received keen interest.

Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Small & Medium Business Center announced on February 20 that they had participated in Ambiente 2012 in Frankfurt, the world’s largest consumer goods expo, for five days from February 10 to 14, and had business discussions concerning 207 export cases worth a total of USD 22.58 million.

4,543 companies from 87 countries participated in the expo, which also attracted a total of 140,000 buyers. While the number of buyers from Western Europe declined because of the current economic slowdown in the region, buyers from Eastern Europe, the U.S., the Middle East, Japan, and Russia increased. Businesses from Gyeonggi Province received keen interest.

Of the companies that participated in the expo, Seshin Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of aluminium die-cast cookware, had talks with AAA Company of Belgium regarding a contract to ship 500,000 3D-coated frying pans worth USD 4.5 million. The same company had discussions with BBB company of Germany about the shipment of USD 500,000 worth of stainless steel pots and other cookware.

Wellos Korea Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of ceramic laundry balls, signed a contract with MMM Company of Turkey for USD 1 million worth of laundry balls, while Patlon, Inc., a manufacturer of aluminium die-cast cookware, signed a contract worth USD 250,000 with AAA Company of Russia to supply gravity casting pot sets.

An official of Gyeonggi Province said, “The export of retail goods by Korean companies to European markets will benefit from the implementation of the Korea-EU FTA, particularly where tariffs are concerned. As such, the province will actively support local companies’ participation in retail business expos in Europe in the future.”

When local companies participate in overseas expos and use a joint Korean booth, as they did at the recent Frankfurt expo, the province supports the companies financially within the limit of 50% of their fees for booth rental, equipment and facilities, and one-way transportation costs. Following their participation in expos, the province also helps the companies concerned with interpretation and translation services and buyer credibility investigations, allowing them to receive realistic assistance from the province until they execute export contracts.

The province has supported local companies’ participation in Ambiente since 2010, and plans to support participation in the Canton Fair in China, the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) in Amsterdam, and other consumer goods expos around the world, in order to help local small and medium-sized businesses expand their overseas presence.

ⓒ G-News Plus | Son Rak-hun | kuni1202@kg21.net

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