CONSORTEX promotes a Virtual Congress gathering SMEs from the Atlantic Area

The Virtual Congress will happen between the 2nd and the 4th of March 2021, bringing together representatives from almost 40 SMEs with activity in the Shipbuilding sector from Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland, and the UK. The event will happen through the VirBELA platform.
 
The CONSORTEX Virtual Congress will host meetings from the six Interregional Exporting Consortia established under the Project. The objective, as CONSORTEX is coming to an end, is to give a step forward towards the constitution of those 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). 
 
The Project partners are committed to bringing together the Atlantic Area Shipbuilding SMEs, promoting the collaboration between them. In this context, the event will be also of relevance as the companies will have the chance to attend B2B meetings.
 
The Congress takes place after three rounds of meetings with SMEs, arranged between 2019 and 2020. Despite all the pandemic constraints, the CONSORTEX partnership managed to organise virtual meetings that were important to support and stimulate companies finding common interests and setting strategies. Therefore, 36 European SMEs will integrate six Export Consortia, focusing on combining expertise and assets to address international markets and new business opportunities. 
 
Foro Marítimo Vasco leads CONSORTEX project, which gathers the partners Fórum Oceano - Associação da Economia do Mar, Associação das Indústrias Navais, MTU - Munster Technological University, National Maritime, Clúster del Sector Naval Gallego and Bretagne Pôle Naval. Co-funded by the INTERREG Atlantic Area Programme, the Project aims to promote the competitiveness and internationalisation of the Shipbuilding sector and its ancillary industry in Portugal, Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
 
With a total budget of over € 1.6 million and an ERDF incentive, through the INTERREG Atlantic Area programme, of almost € 1.3 million, CONSORTEX will end in March 2021.