Finding the Perfect (Czech) Partner

Sagetech Industries Ltd – www.sagetech.co.uk - is a Silchester- based company with a cracking design for a vertical panel saw.  Specifically tailored to meet the needs of the smaller woodworking and hardware workshop where space is limited, the saw is compact and easy to use, incorporating a range of attractive features and all at less than half the price of comparable capacity machines. Keith Bunker – the MD and designer - knew that, with an international reputation for engineering expertise at competitive prices, the Czech Republic would be a good place to look for a manufacturing partner but…how to find them?

Business Link Berkshire and Wiltshire’s – www.blbw.co.uk -International Trade Advisor, Paul Brown, was consulted and decided to introduce Keith to Europartnerships and their Market Development Alliance (MDA) partner in the Czech Republic WTDS Central Europe.

After meeting Hana Cerná and Frans Witpeerd of WTDS to be briefed on his objectives and the kind of partner he was looking to meet, Keith recalls ‘how impressed I was at the way they mastered the technical aspects of the discussion so quickly’.  For Hana, having an older brother in the wood working trade was an obvious advantage. She had even operated some of the machines in his workshop as a teenager.

Once back home in Brno, the WTDS team began their desk and telephone research, searching for potential manufacturers under licence amongst smaller but experienced players in the subcontract-engineering sector. From a ‘long’ list of 18 companies, 6 were eventually selected for meetings with Keith and Paul during a visit to the country in March 2002.
 
‘Contact with all managers of the potential partner companies was very pleasant and they reacted quickly’ reported Hana, who went on to accompany the British visitors throughout their itinerary, providing linguistic, cultural and business advice as required.

Sagetech’s uniquely versatile vertical panel saw.

 ‘It was a real advantage having Hana in our team’ says Keith.  ‘Not only did she understand our technology and what we were looking for in a manufacturer, but she could guide us through the negotiating process and help us make our final selection.  It would have been a lot harder without her!’.

Having found an excellent Czech partner, Keith approved the prototypes over the summer and took delivery of the first batch of completed panel saws before Christmas.  He has always appreciated the export potential of his products and, with help from Europartnerships and their MDA network, is now taking action to find distributors throughout Europe starting with partner searches in Spain and France.

For further information, contact Mark Dodsworth on +44 1684 564550