In cooperation with the Department for International Trade (DIT), Northern Powerhouse and Team Humber Marine Alliance, the Netherlands British Chamber of Commerce were pleased to welcome 30 companies from the North East England region, all of which operate within the offshore energy sector, during a trade mission to the Netherlands in October 2018.
The mission coincided with a two-day visit to the leading sector exhibition “Offshore Energy 2018” at RAI, Amsterdam.
The NBCC team provided the delegates with a busy programme that rested on three main “pillars” – information, building business partnerships and networking.
During the group ferry crossing from Humberside to Rotterdam, the delegates were updated on various aspects of doing business with the Netherlands, in particular within the sector of offshore energy by Michiel van Deursen, Director of the NBCC. He also briefed the delegates about the mission programme. Alistair Ward, Senior Investment Advisor at DIT gave an insight in the current state of play in the Dutch offshore wind sector.
Upon arrival at the RAI, the delegation members made their way to the Trade Missions Lounge which was their headquarter during the exhibition where meetings were planned and where delegates could sit back and relax and grab a coffee and a sandwich.
A large proportion of the group attended the seminar delivered at the Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland) which focused on the offshore energy sector in the Netherlands and, in particular, the tender for the Hollandse Kust (zuid) III and IV Wind Farm Sites.
The trade mission delegates were provided numerous opportunities to initiate business relations with other companies in their sector. The NBCC arranged meetings for both individual delegates as well as for the entire group and the NBCC enabled the delegates to get to know key contacts at leading Dutch companies such as Van Oord, Boskalis, Hydrauvision, Ampelmann and Damen Shipyards, all of which were present at the Exhibition. Apart from the meetings organised by the NBCC, our delegates could also sign up for matchmaking one-on-one sessions organised by the Enterprise Europe Network. Overall, the NBCC ensured the mission delegates had their schedules full with business meetings throughout the entire programme, while providing them with some optional spare time to attend the Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference at their own leisure.
Participation in networking events was also included in the programme. The delegates were invited to attend the Southern North Sea Energy Alliance signing session of the Memorandum of Understanding between AYOP (Amsterdam IJmuiden Offshore Ports), EEEGR (East of England Energy Group), NSEG (Den Helder North Sea Energy Gateway) and THMA (Team Humber Marine Alliance). The group was also welcomed to join various receptions at the show.
In order to also get a flavour of Amsterdam around the busy mission programme, the NBCC took all the delegates for a delicious dinner in a traditional Dutch restaurant in central Amsterdam allowing them further opportunities to enhance business contacts not just in a business setting, but also in a rather informal atmosphere.
A booklet containing the profiles of all the delegation members can be downloaded here.