A trade mission to Texas by a delegation from Belgium means possible expansion for two College Station manufacturers.
The Research Valley Partnership (RVP) economic development agency has announced memorandums of support involving Exothermix…which manufactures portable heating solutions…and Essentium Materials…whose product lines includes 3-D printers and 3-D filament.
An RVP news release states the agreements offer unique opportunities for companies on both sides of the Atlantic to expand and increase their global reach.
From the Research Valley Partnership:
Corporate officers from Essentium Materials and Exothermix signed Memorandums of Support with the Research Valley Partnership’s economic development partners from Belgium on Wednesday.
The signing of these Memorandums is part of the ongoing Belgian Economic Mission to Texas led by Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid.
The signed agreements encourage the development and international expansion of Essentium Materials (http://essentiummaterials.com/) and Exothermix (http://www.exothermix.com/) by providing corporate acceleration services, exploring entry into the European marketplace.
“Assisting Essentium Materials and Exothermix is core to our economic development launch and grow activities,” Todd E. McDaniel, President and CEO of the Partnership, said. “The fact that both of these companies have business relationships already in place in Belgium, has made facilitating with our Belgian counterparts a seamless solution.”
The cooperation between the Partnership and its Belgian Economic Development counterparts has existed for almost a decade, with Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency (AWEX) and IDELUX Group being the Partnership’s key international economic development partners.
“We welcome supporting Essentium Materials and Exothermix,” Philippe Lachapelle, Director of Business Development, Partnerships and Innovation for AWEX, said. ”We understand how important these companies are to the Research Valley and will ensure a ‘red-carpet’ approach in exploring their entry into the Wallonia region of Belgium.”
The local Texas/Belgian business-to-business connection is robust, as Belgium already provides goods and services to Research Valley companies and is one of Texas’ top 10 overall export destination.
“We have had a long relationship with Belgium, including sourcing some of our raw materials. It is natural for us to consider Belgian partners for our international and European growth strategy,” Adam Laubach, CEO of Exothermix, said. “We want to thank the Belgians for agreeing to help us with our ‘first look’ at additional markets and partnerships for our European-centric efforts. This Memorandum of Support, coordinated by the Belgium/Texas Partnership members, gives us access to world class talent and capabilities to help give global markets access to our technology for heated packaging through advanced biomedical applications.”
The signed agreements offer unique opportunities for companies on both sides of the Atlantic to expand and increase their global reach.
“Essentium Materials thanks the Partnership for facilitating these agreements,” Blake Teipel, President and Chief Technology Officer of Essentium, said. “We look forward to the support from AWEX and IDELUX and the expansion opportunity it represents.”