Medilink Midlands hosted a series of one-to-one Discovery Talks with representatives from the following organisations during the MTI Expo 2024. To read more about our international activity for the expo, click here.
China: Excellence First Enterprise Consultancy
Excellence First Enterprise Consultancy (EFEC) has been operating for 18 years, supporting partnerships EFEC between UK and China organisations.
In 2019, EFEC co-ordinated with the Shanghai Lingang Construction and Investment Company and Cambridge Network, to set up the Lingang Cambridge Network (LCN).
By working with LCN, EFEC is growing two new services, ‘Into UK’ and ‘Into China’. These services support UK companies seeking access to China markets and Chinese companies in their ambitions to enter the UK market – for suppliers, customers, partners, investors.
Setting up business in the UK or in China is straightforward – but there are rules to understand and things can become difficult if companies don’t appreciate enough about the way to get things done.
Going ‘into China’, or ‘into UK’, EFEC works with the expert partners help companies make the best start to your business journey.
We work with companies to understand the stage they are at and what they need to know about the potential for entering China or the UK.
EFEC is focussing on two main areas for this work, each of global significance and at the forefront of innovation across the world: life-sciences and cleantech. And we are finding real interest from companies who need that globalised approach to their future success – and better outlooks for humanity.
Germany: NRW. Global Business
North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is located in the center of Europe and borders on the Netherlands and Belgium. It is the most populous and the most densely populated of the 16 federal states in Germany. The state is more densely populated than Japan. NRW has 28 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. The largest cities are Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund and Essen. The most important metropolitan areas are the Ruhr region with approx. 5.1 million inhabitants and the Rhineland with more than 3.0 million inhabitants.
The two major international airports as well as 4 airports with European connections offer approx. 450 international direct flight connections. All of Europe’s major cities can be reached in a maximum of 3 hours by air. A tight road, rail and waterway network ensures good connections all over the world.
NRW earns more than 794 billion euros, 20.5 percent of the German GDP, putting it clearly at the top of all German federal states. Internationally, NRW holds 18th position – ahead of Sweden, Poland and Belgium. NRW generates 4.5 percent of the European GDP (EU-27). 17 of the 50 largest German companies are based here (e.g. Aldi, Bayer, Deutsche Post, Deutsche Telekom, E.ON, Metro, Rewe, RWE, ThyssenKrupp). With more than 60 technology and start-up centers and over 50 non-university research facilities form one of the densest research networks in Europe and provide ideal conditions for technology transfer. NRW has many excellent commercial premises near economic centres – at internationally competitive prices.
Find out more about NRW here.
To learn more about the life science cluster BIO.NRW, follow the link here.
For more information about the subsidy and incentive programme, click here.
Romania: Rise Institute
RISE Institute is a dynamic non-profit association, based in Transylvania, Romania, in the heart of Europe. We aim at responding the challenges of the 21st century by fostering the sustainable growth of communities through skilling, up/re-skilling, research, innovation, and excellence in education, industry and in public sector.
Mission: Bridging people, businesses, universities, public and private entities to generate microcosmos of sustainable growth.
Our mission is to develop microcosmos of growth for all, with a special focus on youth.
We aim at developing high skills for people, embedded in today’s needs and changes, to generate added value for industries through trade knowledge transfer, to facilitate academic connectivity and research projects in order to sustain innovation and sustainable growth.
The first bridge is between the Midlands, UK and Transylvania, Romania, due to the connections we have and several similarities between the two regions: agricultural historical areas, brain-drained phenomenon, fast economic growth in the last decades.
USA: City of Mentor, Ohio
The City of Mentor, a regional economic hub just east of Cleveland, Ohio, is home to numerous medtech/biotech firms, including the STERIS Corporation. For the last six years, the City of Mentor has enjoyed a relationship with Medilink Midlands to assist those looking further explore operating in the US market. We specialize in a concierge-based approach to business relationship building, introducing companies to a world-class and affordable healthcare ecosystem in Northeast Ohio, partnering with internationally known entities like the Cleveland Clinic, and companies across the region to find matchmaking opportunities for international companies, and providing soft-landing experience and various incentives to companies looking to establish a North American presence.
Belgium: Embassy of Belgium (Walloon Region Trade Office)
The Wallonia Export & Investment Agency or AWEX, is the public service in Wallonia in charge both of attracting foreign investment to Wallonia-Belgium and to stimulate foreign trade by assisting the companies established in our region in their export endeavours.
It constitutes a one-stop shop for all foreign companies interested in locating to Wallonia or expanding their existing activities and is the complete partner for all Walloon companies wishing to develop overseas.
Canada: City of Brampton
Brampton is a city that embraces the world. We have a talented, diverse and youthful workforce.
We are a fast-growing and vibrant city located in the Greater Toronto Area in the middle of Canada’s innovation corridor. Brampton is attracting talent and investment from around the world and business is booming.
Toronto Metropolitan University’s new medical school is under construction in Brampton, bringing health care innovation and inspiring a focus on growing our MedTech sector guided by the City’s new MedTech taskforce. Brampton is home to industry giants, including Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Dynacare, Taro Pharmaceuticals and Canon.
40% of Canada’s Life Sciences companies are in the Greater Toronto Area and Brampton is on the cusp of an exiting phase of growth.
Medilink Midlands hosts regional Life Sciences showcase for City of Brampton, Canada delegation – read more on their Midlands visit here.
China: China-Britain Business Council
The China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) is the UK’s national business network promoting trade and investment with China. Since 1954 we have acted as the independent voice of business, located at the heart of the action, engaging across both countries in every sector and region. We support our members and partners by delivering the advice, analysisand access which they need in order to seize the China opportunity. Our diverse membership includes some of the UK’s leading companies and universities, many of the most dynamic UK SMEs, and an ever increasing number of Chinese companies exporting to and investing in the UK.
Contact the China-Britain Business Council here.
Global Trade Department
Global Trade Department is a business management consultancy specialising in international trade, regulatory compliance, and sustainability planning. Its first-hand experience gained from many decades of working across different industries, in both import and export-focused roles, enables it to meet the challenges or ambitions of clients.
Its founder Andrea Collins will be on hand to support with queries relating to import/export matters, including sustainability, paperwork, packaging requirements and much more.