Regional Technology Mediators experiences

1
Regional Technology Mediators experiences

• Katarzyna Banys
• Wroclaw Centre for Technology Transfer
• Wroclaw University of Technology
• Bruxelles, 14 June 2007

2
Activities

• WCTT launched the activity of identification
  of the technical needs and expectations of meat
  SMEs. The methodology followed to achieve this
  objective
• Preparation of a specific database (around 600)
  of meat SMEs.
• Contacts by mail with all the companies included
  in the database, to introduce them the services
  offered by the TECARE project.
• Telephone contacts with a selection of companies
  and associations of companies included in the
  database.

3
Activities

• Meetings with companies.
• Identification of technical articles and
  magazines of the meat sector, e.g. with
  interviews with companies managers that explained
  the problems of the meat sector.
• Organisation of a Working Group among the
  companies and associations of companies
  interested in TECARE, identified by mail or
  telephone. This Geographical Working Group was
  organised by means of a Geographical Working
  Group meetings.

4
Conclusions

• After Regional Launching Workshop WCTT enlarged
  Lower Silesia Region to neighbouring regions of
  Poland because of small number of meat sector
  SMEs in the region.
• SMEs described their problems and asked experts
  how SMEs can find new clients, how they should
  sell their products.
• SMEs are really interested in marketing issues
  workshops.

5
Conclusions

• SMEs have a lot of problems with selling their
  products to supermarkets. SMEs described their
  problems and asked experts how SMEs can find new
  clients, how they should sell their products.
• Polish SMEs have problems with meat waste
  utilization. The costs of utilization are higher
  and higher. One of the SMEs proposed meat waste
  utilization as a UE project subject.
• Polish SMEs have problems with outside of market
  selling. It is a huge problem for SMEs because
  some kind of producers sell cheap meat without
  taxes.
• Financial problems are barrier to improve
  production, innovation.

6
Conclusions

• It is really hard work to making SMEs interested
  in TECARE (interested in FP project
  participation).
• People working in the meat sector all behave very
  special in terms that they are totally sceptic
  and not willing to talk to you and even if they
  agreed the process is very slow.
• Polish meat sector SMEs have a lot of problems
  but the main problem is how to survival because
  of all the cheap discounters.

7
Conclusions

• SMEs do not belive that TECARE could help or at
  least express their problems on a higher level.
  They are afraid that they only waste a lot of
  time without any effect. Sometimes they have some
  bad experiences with Structural Funds. SMEs have
  to fill in a lot of documents, forms, which is
  time-consuming and they dont have any guaranty
  of getting a funds.

8
Results

• WCTT found 12 SMEs interested, organized 5
  Geographical Working Group meetings.
• WCTT as a Regional Contact Point will continue
  their work with meat SMEs participated in
  Transregional Research Consortia created by
  TECARE project.

9

• Thank you for your attention!
• Katarzyna Banys
• Wroclaw Centre for Technology Transfer, Wroclaw
  University of Technology
• Ul. Smoluchowskieg 48
• 50-372 Wroclaw
• Poland
• kb_at_wctt.pl
• 48 71 320 21 89