Uniway Solutions Ltd
An Opportunity Too Good to Waste
As Romania prepared for entry to the EU in 2007, the way it handled municipal and private waste came under the spotlight. The country needed to put in place a waste infrastructure in order to comply with the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive.
Nottingham-based Envirup.com spotted an opportunity to expand its services into Romania. The company is an environmental consultancy renowned for its innovative approach to waste management. It had put together a business plan to build an Electrical Waste Recycling plant in the UK in response to the WEEE Directive and was considering opportunities elsewhere in Europe. Romania appeared to be a prime target as it needed to upgrade its waste management capability and lacked the technical expertise to do it.
Envirup.com's Principal Consultant, Assim Ishaque was keen to use whatever UK Trade & Investment services were available to help the company capitalise on the opportunity. International Trade Advisor, Steve Morrison put Envirup.com in contact with the Export Marketing Research Scheme, which provides support and funding to help UK companies to research potential overseas markets.
Export Marketing Research Advisor Ian Morrison urged caution, warning against rushing into the Romanian market. “Companies entering an overseas market for the first time need to make sure they are fully aware of the way the market works, the problems they might come up against, the legislation, the political situation and so on,” explains Ian. “Rather than rush to grasp an opportunity, it’s important to take time researching the market and planning an appropriate entry strategy.”
Assim Ishaque of Envirup.com spent a week in Romania talking to government offices, environmental agencies, licensing authorities, local councils and private enterprises. His findings confirmed that there was an opportunity there for the company but also discovered that it would have to alter its product offering if it wanted to do business in Romania. Assim explains:
“Romania is not yet ready for world class waste management. The state-of-the-art services that we have here in the UK are simply not appropriate for that marketplace. They need an intermediate level service. For example, at the time of my visit, all municipal waste went straight to landfill. However, the landfill sites were being closed down in preparation for accession to the EU. They needed an immediate solution to the problem but were not in a position to introduce the best of what is available in the UK. At present, the Romanian market for waste management is probably 20 or 30 years behind the UK.”
This information proved vital in informing Envirup.com plans to approach the market. The company has just put forward a tender for a multi million pound project, designed to provide the intermediate level service that the country needs. Assim concludes:
“The export marketing research gave me a better understanding of the Romanian market and took away all of the guesswork. From what we have learned from talking to people in Romania, we anticipate that the tender process will be a lengthy one and that we will need to take time to build personal relationships over there. But, I am confident that we have understood what the market needs and put together a proposal that will deliver it.
“I am new to exporting and I found that the Export Marketing Research Scheme gave me the time and support I needed to get the right results. They introduced me to the British Embassy in Romania which was invaluable in providing contacts on the ground. This experience has shown me that, even when there are fantastic opportunities out there, you need to temper your enthusiasm and approach the market in the right way. I am now looking at other overseas markets in this way and I hope to use the scheme again in the future.”