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The two-day (25 & 26 March 2009) B2B forum and networking event will enable companies from outside the region to meet locally based players in this cluster of high-tech excellence focused on engineering, R&D and sub-contracting.
ECONOMIA, which takes place in alternate years, is being held for the fifth time in 2009, and the originality of the concept may explain its success. Open to the region’s subcontractors — especially to the very small companies, with the financial support of the EU, the French government, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry — the forum enables the regional competences and the multi-technological solutions on offer to be matched with the needs of potential buyers.
CCI du Doubs invites all interested parties to come and meet suppliers and partners based in the region. Participation is free of charge, and the organisers will cover the cost of accommodation, meals and travelling expenses.
A team of experts will be on hand to analyse the visitor’s needs and expectations, with the help of a technical questionnaire, which, in turn, will make it possible to schedule meetings with the right contacts and to maximum effect. The appointments schedule will be defined by the organisers together with the visiting companies. A detailed appointments schedule will be sent to participating companies ahead of the event: 30-minute pre-arranged business appointments with regional suppliers/sub-contractors will take place during the forum.
The advantages of the business forum to participating companies are manifold: company representatives will save time; they will be able to meet suppliers who are adapted to their stated needs, in what is one of the most densely industrialised French regions; and travel costs will be reimbursed. The ECONOMIA forum operates as a unique marketplace (with an online platform accompanying the ‘real’ event), which enables participants to follow up on the contacts made and on the appointments set up.
Doubs, in the region of Franche-Comté, is situated at the crossroads of France, Switzerland and Germany, at the heart of Continental Europe. The region has a long and proud engineering as well as manufacturing tradition, and presently regroups an array of high-tech companies offering efficient sub-contracting services in a range of industries such as high-precision mechanics, micro-machining, bar turning, fine blanking, micro-injection moulding, connectics, electronics, foundry, surface treatment, assembling in white rooms, R&D, tooling, and prototyping.
The expertise of the local players has enabled them to export to leading markets around the world, while attracting large multinational groups in automotive (Peugeot), energy (General Electric), railways (Alstom), aerospace, defence, medical devices, precision devices, watch and clock making, agrifood, toys, building facilities, and chemicals, among others.
Companies based in the region benefit from the presence of a highly developed network of innovative R&D facilities, which include the Institut Pierre Vernier (IPV); the Femto Institute of Sciences & Technologies; the Institut de Génie Energétique (IGE); Numerica in the multimedia sector; and the University of Technology-Belfort-Montbéliard (which offers courses focusing on energy, process, design and industrialisation, surface engineering, data processing and intelligent systems, as well as innovation and entrepreneurship).
Together with the region’s sound industrial and technological base, its R&D facilities enable companies based in Doubs to draw on their powerful know-how in order to offer a range of services, from the very conception and design of a client-company’s project to the production stage. Local players are also versatile: they are able to work any type of raw material thanks to their highly sophisticated equipment.
In 2007, ECONOMIA brought together 50 OEMs, about 75 buyers and product managers, and over 100 subcontractors from across Franche-Comté. With close to 730 pre-arranged appointments, the forum reached a 90% satisfaction rate among participating companies; nearly 580 enquiries concerning possible business and technological partnerships were generated by the event.
About CCI du Doubs and Franche-Comté
Doubs is part of Franche-Comté, a highly industrialised and technologically advanced region of Eastern France. The region’s expertise is structured around four high-tech clusters with international reach — Vehicle of the Future (Franche-Comté/Alsace); Plastipolis (Franche-Comté); Microtechnics (Franche-Comté); and Vitagora (Burgundy/Franche-Comté).
The region is close to large cities such as Lyons and Strasbourg in France and Basel in Switzerland; it borders not only Switzerland but also Germany, and is close to Italy. Good transport links connect Franche-Comté to the rest of France and Europe — be it by high-speed train (TGV) or by plane (the nearest airport is Basel-Mulhouse).
The organisers of ECONOMIA are the Metropolitan Area of Montbéliard (CAPM), the City of Montbéliard (Ville de Montbéliard) and the CCI du Doubs.
ECONOMIA 2009 will take place on 25 and 26 March 2009 in Montbéliard at La Roselière (Rue du Champ de Foire — 25200 — Montbéliard, France). A taxi service will be laid on to pick up visitors directly at the airport (Basel-Mulhouse) or at the railway station (Montbéliard).
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contact.ftpb[.]ubifrance.fr 
