Supporting the NRW Mission to London 2011, Green Building Services

Last week was the culmination of considerable planning and logistics, when four green building services companies from Germany came to the UK for the NRW Mission to London, 2011. The trip included one to one business meetings through the European Enterprise Network, seminars, attendance at Ecobuild 2011, site visits and evening networking.

But how is a mission trip like this put together?

Miriam and Marie share a joke

The lynch-pin in this case was the Handelskammer (Trade Association) Duesseldorf, in the form of the highly engaged Marie-Theres Luetje. She was enabling a project by NRW International, who co-ordinate support for export from North Rhine-Westphalia, with the support of Ministry for Economic Affairs, Energy, Building, Housing and Transport of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

The tender for delivery was won by Europartnerships Ltd in the UK, whose director, Mark Dodsworth, has decades of experience with similar projects throughout Europe. He brought in a team of people to facilitate the various stages.

Miriam Palaschinski assisted Marie at the German end, to interest relevant companies in the program. Researchers such as Nick Thomas and Petra Riemenschneider conducted the research and found UK contacts. An administrative team including Nora Aguirre, helped Mark put the final plans in place.

I've worked with Mark as a partner on other projects, this time I was there to be on the ground in the UK as facilitator and interpreter between the German companies and the UK organisations we would meet.

In the Victoria Pub, Bayswater

The one factor that I particularly enjoy, even if it does make for much longer days, is the social networking that is integral to any Europartnerships program. When you visit a foreign country on business, it is easy to only see the insides of hotels and exhibitions. Mark makes sure that the evenings are spent in a relaxed atmosphere, such as the Victoria Pub in Bayswater included, with UK guests.
The success of such a mission would not be possible without the over two centuries or more of accumulated experience by all involved in assisting such missions!

Find out more about the mission by following the links below

1. NRW Green Building Services Companies on a Mission to London & Ecobuild 2011
2. The People Leading the NRW Green Building Services Companies
3. Personal Impressions: EcoBuild
4. Retrofitting Existing Homes in the UK
5. Supporting the NRW Mission to London 2011, Green Building Services

NRW Mission Brochure at http://goo.gl/XbOOF

A project of NRW International.
Supported by the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Energy, Building, Housing and Transport of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Organised by Marie-Theres Luetje, Handwerkskammer Duesseldorf.
Realised by Mark Dodsworth & team, Europartnerships Ltd.