Building Export Consortia: how Consortex Project can help SMEs across the Atlantic Area responding to Covid-19 crisis

The Consortex project, co-funded by the INTERREG Atlantic Area programme, aims to promote the competitiveness and internationalisation of the Shipbuilding sector and its ancillary industry in Portugal, Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Ireland, by setting up Interregional Exporting Consortia consisting of European SMEs specialised in the manufacture of built-in packages for vessels and marine structures (Deck, Vessel Design, Accommodation, Engine Room, Bridge and Offshore Energy).
 
With a strategy focused on developing Export Consortia, the project can play an important role when responding to the impact of Covid-19 Pandemic. Sea Europe, which represents the European shipbuilding industry in 16 nations, stated that “like other industries, Europe’s maritime technology sector has been hit very hard by the COVID-19 outbreak. But, unlike other industries, Europe’s maritime technology sector will feel the real negative consequences from the COVID-19 outbreak more acutely in the medium and long-term. This is because shipbuilding and maritime equipment manufacturing are export-oriented businesses and very much depend on global macro-economic trends, trade volumes, and market sentiments. Moreover, shipbuilding is characterized by very long lead production times, with a 2-3 years’ time laps between the ship’s contracting and delivery on average, and heavily depends on a well-functioning supply chain, as 70-80% of the ship’s value derives from the supply chain.”
 
In a press statement issued in April 2020, SEA Europe also said that expects that “COVID-19 will particularly negatively impact those markets in which Europe’s shipyards currently are global leaders, notably the markets of complex ship types, such as ferries and cruise vessels, dredgers, advanced fishing vessels and vessels for offshore operations.”
 
In this context, Consortex Project has been working with SMEs across the Atlantic Area and expects to contribute for the recovery, rejuvenation, and renewal process of the Shipbuilding Industry through the development of specific Consortia.
 
Despite COVID-19, Consortex’ s partners are pushing forward the Consortia building process as it would be of relevance to face the current crisis, and to help the sector across the EU to maintain its leadership position in the production of added-value solutions.
 
An export consortium is composed of a group of companies that aims to promote their exports, through synergistic and joint actions. By being part of an export consortium firms keep their autonomy and could combine expertise and financial means to access foreign markets, enabling them to achieve a stable presence abroad.
 
The main advantages of an export consortium are greater competitiveness, better operating results with lower economic costs, taking advantage of business synergies and experience, and expertise for internationalisation.
 
During the next months, the Consortex' s partners hope to complete the process of incorporating Export Consortia, so the companies can start operating together and responding to the coming challenges.