Seawork Inward Buyer Mission

11 & 12 June 2008

Event Background

The Seawork Inward Buyer Mission will take place at Seawork in Southampton on 11th and 12th June 2008. The Inward Buyer Mission will bring key decision makers from major overseas companies to Seawork to meet with suppliers in order to develop commercial relationships. Buyers and suppliers will be matched by capability and interest. Each buyer will have a pre-arranged schedule of meetings, based on 20 minute slots. In 2007 buyers came from Portugal, Spain, New Zealand, China, Canada, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy and India. There were over 110 half hour meetings between 35 supplier companies and 8 buyer companies (10 individual buyers). 65% of the suppliers were from the South East and of these, 11 were new to UKT&I South East.

The event is being organised by UK Trade & Investment South East (www.uktisoutheast.com) and Mercator Media, organisers of Seawork, with support from SEEDA (www.seeda.co.uk), local authorities and trade associations.

2007 Buyers Mission

The 2007 event organisation was a collaboration between Mercator Events, organisers of the Seawork Exhibition, and UKT&I South East. Budgetary funding came from UKTI with Mercator contributing staff time, stand space and paying for stand construction. Due to lack of budget, sponsors were sought to defray some of the costs for social activities surrounding the event, and all supplier companies were charged £25 + VAT for each meeting.

Supplier Meeting Outcomes

35% of respondents said they were asked to quote
84% of respondents said they would have further discussions with the buyers
28% of respondents said they received advice on selling into the buyer's country

Satisfaction

92% of respondents were very happy with the event organisation
76% of respondents said they met their objectives
48% of respondents were positive about the meeting outcomes

Supplier Comments

"Brilliantly organised and a warm welcome - thank you" - Rory Hunt, Duncan Propellers
"Good quality companies with genuine enquiries" - Martin Jackson, MIT
"Excellent opportunity to meet people who may well have walked past our stand" - David Ayling, Straightpoint (UK)
"Thank you for the opportunity to talk and meet, saving hours of hard work" - Andrew Dale, Red Ensign
"Very good and efficient way of meeting new customers - possible 2 our of 4 for us" - Geoff Taylor, PSM Instrumentation
"Very helpful as you can never meet the buyer at their place of work" - Scott Dawson, Furneaux Riddall
"Good meeting with potential to add a a new overseas customer" - Mel Johnson, G&M Power Plant

Buyer Comments

"I found many more very interesting high quality suppliers than I expected" - Pedro Otazua, Asteilleros Zamakona Pasaia
"The exhibition is a very good place to exchange information... I believe the event will help more UK suppliers to find overseas customers" - Zhang Haitao, CIESCO
"This is a very good event for Chinese ports to learn more about UK production, which will be important for Chinese Ports" - Du Ming, Tianjin Port Group
"The show provided some valuable contacts which will be further explored" - Tony Fox, Turmot Inc
"A worthwhile event to increase trade between UK and New Zealand" - Peter Busfield, Marine New Zealand

Buyers and Suppliers

Buyers will be invited from organisations that have an interest in procuring marine equipment and services, such as port authorities, equipment distributors, vessel operators and ship yards. The buyers will be purchasing decision makers. They will come from across Europe, Asia and North America. The website will be updated as buyers confirm their attendance.

Suppliers will be UK based companies with suitable products and services. Each supplier will be charged £35 per twenty minute session with special concessions for exhibitors. Meetings are scheduled based on supplier capabilities and buyer interest.

The sector coverage of the event will be focused on the light commercial sector:

• Dockyard and ports supply (equipment and services)
• Maritime Security
• Maritime surveillance and vessel management systems
• Commercial equipment
• Commercial vessels (all sizes and types)
• Related services

Next Steps

The meetings will take place on 11th and 12th June 2008 - on the second and third days of Seawork.

If you are interested  in registering your products and services please keep an eye on this page as the registration form for suppliers will be available to download in the New Year. In the meantime should you require any additional information please do not hesitate to give one of the team a call on +44 (0)1329 820479

All registered companies will be contacted by the end of April 2008 to book their meeting slots.