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1. SPX Success Stories in 2001
Columbia
• In 2000, SPX network system helped to sign subcontracting contracts worth 22.6512 million Euro dollars. It was expected that this figure will increase to 26,7 million Euro dollars by the end of 2001;
• In 2000, there were more than 2,000 companies registered in SPX system;
• With the help of specialists, SPX organized 5 workshops and on-job training activities. It took part in 9 promotion activities including international and domestic exhibitions.
Cuba
SPX has obtained the following achievements since its setting up 10 years ago：
• Successfully promoted 804 subcontracting cooperation agreements,Having promoted 1,579 members through media.
• Having organized 120 Cuban enterprises attending 24 Overseas International Subcontracting Exhibition.
• As exhibition member, it has taken part 30 international exhibitions organized in Cuba.
Mexico
• “2001SPX” set up “Mold Design and Manufacturing Center” on 25th, August of 2001. During the first nine months of 2001, the imported mold in Mexico reached 653.40 million Euro dollars;The goal of Mexico SPX in the first year is to get import substitute subcontracting order worthy of 4.356 million Euro dollars.
Senegal
• With the help of SPX, the export volume of Chemical Industry Senegal (CIS) exceeds 90%, having obtained hard currency of 155.2 million Euro dollars for Senegal, contributing 61 million Euro dollars for its GDP.
Tunisia
• With the help of SPX, a new Tunisia joint venture started to manufacture leather case for steering wheel in November of 2000. One year later, the investor added the investment to 7.623 million Euro dollars;
• European main contractors have signed 3 million Euro dollars contracts with two Tunisia enterprises;
Having facilitated the matching and cooperation of 9 enterprises in bicycle industry.
2. ALGERIA —Constantine: Connecting for Cabling
Algeria’s State-owned iron and steel complex, called “SIDER Group”, decided to launch a national bidding and consultation process as part of the renovation of its facilities in early 2001. As a founding member of the SPX in Constantine, the SIDER Group decided to request the SPX to source suitable subcontractors.
The Algerian SPX Network
The Subcontracting and Partnership Exchange covering the eastern region of Algeria, also called BSTP-E, was established in Constantine in 1993, with the financial assistance of the Algerian government and the UNDP and with the technical assistance of UNIDO. It is part of a national network consisting of four SPXs, the three others are located in Algiers in the centre, Oran in the west, and Ghardaia in the south of the country. Since its creation, the SPX of Constantine allowed its members to establish fruitful business contacts and to participate in numerous national and international fairs. During the first semester of the year 2001, a num - ber of matchmakings took place.
The BSTP-E provides the following services to its members:
• Organizes regional subcontracting exhibitions, awareness programmes and seminars;
• Provides technical and commercial information and identifies subcontractors and suppliers in response to inquiries from foreign and domestic main contractors and buyers, either from the public or private sectors; provides information on demand and supply of second-hand machines;
• Advises the enterprises, assists them in the negotiations and facilitates the matchmaking;
• Networks with national and international agencies, government and non-government bodies, organizations, institutions, chambers of commerce and industry, enterprises and individuals;
• Provides technical assistance to subcontractors and links them up with institutions in view of providing the required guidance and technical know-how and improving their competitiveness.
Matching the public sector as main contractor with private sector enterprises
As a result of the consultation process, two specialized members of the SPX were identified and put in con - tact with the SIDER Purchase Department and they were selected for the final round of negotiations. At the end, the firm USINAL, specialized in metalworking and transformation, was selected for the job and signed an important contract with the State-owned complex.
For more information on BSTP-E, please contact:
Mr Mohamed Bourkab, Director BSTP-E, at e-mail: bstpe@lycos.com
3. BRAZIL—Sao Paulo SPX Network: Eureka! The Solution for Production Problems
“I’ve had problems for many months and now I can see the solution right here!” said the Technical and Production Manager of a German company operating in Brazil when he visited a Sao Paulo company’s stand at the Inter - national Subcontracting Exhibition (ISE- 2000).
“Based on our successful experiences, we participate in around six to eight Industrial Fairs annually,” said the CEO of the Sao Paulo company who attended this German manager. “During this fair, the German manager cautiously started making general inquiries and suddenly blurted out this statement that he saw his solution without even knowing whether our company was operating in Brazil or what products we could offer. We explained to him that in the past, our access to his company was limited to the purchase department that had never ordered anything from us.”
Wide industrial coverage
This “Eureka” solution emerged as one of the numerous contacts of the Sao Paulo SPX established in 1972 with the technical assistance of UNIDO. The SPX covers metal-working and engineering; plastics and rub - ber; electric and electronic; textiles and garments; wood and furniture; leather and footwear; and machinery and equipment sectors. In fact, the SPX incorporates three sectorial SPXs:
• ABIMAQ (Associacio Brasileir da Industria de Maquinas e Equipamentos). Exchange covering metal- working and engineering industries.
• ABINEE (Associacio Brasileir da Industria Eletro-Eletronica). Exchange covering electric and electron - ics industries.
• SEBRAE (Servicio Brasileiro de Apoio a Micro e Pequena Empresa). Exchange covering all SMEs not members of the above two professional associations.
The Sao Paulo SPX has more than 3,400 registered member-companies. Its core activity is to provide pur- chasing companies with detailed information on subcontracting capabilities of its members. This informa - tion includes technical services, production capabilities, technical specifications of machinery and equipment and other relevant details. Organizing subcontracting and partnership fairs is a major activity such as the mega continental event ‘Subcontrata Latino-Americana XIV’ jointly with ISE 2000 Fair—the fourteenth event in this series was held in October 2000.
Paid off initial investment
The Executive of the SPX Member Company recalled, “The industrial applications of our products are wide- spread, though our products are technically very specialized. We manufacture straps and synchronous pulleys that can be applied to any equipment with a motor-driven machine. More precisely, since these products are synchronizers and made of plastic (polyurethane), these can be fully and effectively used in the transmission of small and large power engines, synchronized transports or just in simple synchronizers.”
“Next day we visited the German company with our technicians and worked on the design of a factory for 12 engi- neers,” he continued. “At the end of the day, we had developed a project for two machines. This project not only more than paid off our initial investment, but also allowed us to achieve our objective: To introduce our products in a German company. Today, this company is still one of our regular clients. One of the greatest benefits we get from participating in these fairs is the opportunity to deal face-to-face with the decision-making executives.”
For further information on SPX Sao Paulo, please contact:
Mr Luis Alvaro Siqueira Bastos, Director, BSI-SP, at e-mail: luizb@sebraesp.com.br
4. COLOMBIA—National Network: Achieving a New Record
The Colombian Network of Subcontracting and Partnership Exchanges (SPXs) has helped to sign €22,651,2001 worth of contracts through matchmaking interventions for subcontracting and partnerships in 2000; and by the end of 2001, this figure is expected to achieve a new record of €26.7 million.
The impressive figure for 2000 has been made possible due to its eight SPXs operating from various Colombian Chambers of Commerce: Bogota responsible for €8,712,000; ACIEM in Bogota for €5,880,000; Manizales for €4,954,950; Medellin for €2,559,150 and Cali for €544,500. Three other Colombian SPXs are still in their start-up phase and are expected to produce results in the near future.
Established with UNIDO’s technical assistance, starting as far back as 1986, this network of eight SPXs promotes industrial subcontracting and supply partnerships with local and foreign partners, and organizes public procurement on behalf of the State and disseminates them to local small and medium enterprises. With the Ministry of Economic Development as the Network Coordinator, the Chambers of Commerce of Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Manizales, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga and Pasto play a major role in the operations of seven of them by hosting them. The other supporting organizations are the Colombian Association of Electric and Mechanic Engineers (ACIEM); the Colombian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ACOPI); the National Association of Industry (ANDI); the Colombian Association of Plastics (ACOPLASTICOS); and the National Training Service (SENA).
Active interaction
The Colombian SPX Network provides the following services:
• Organizes regional subcontracting fairs, exhibitions, awareness programmes and seminars.
• Provides technical and commercial information for main contractors and subcontractors; identifies local subcontractors and suppliers in response to inquiries from foreign main contractors and buyers; and facilitates matchmakings.
• Advises enterprises on industrial subcontracting and partnership related issues.
• Networks with national and international agencies, government and non-government bodies, organiza - tions, institutions, chambers of commerce, companies, firms and individuals.
• Conducts seminars, discussions and provides technical assistance to vendors; links with other institutions with a view to providing necessary guidance and know-how; improves competitiveness and viability of suppliers.
New approach
These SPXs cover various industrial sectors such as metalworking, electric, plastics, textiles and clothing, and industrial services. A new and successful approach is an SPX established within ACIEM exclusively covering industrial services. In 2000, the SPX Network successfully achieved the following results:
• As part of its company data collection activities through plant visits and industrial surveys, the SPX Network registered more then 2,000 companies in its databases.
• With the support of qualified experts, the SPX Network organized five seminars and on-the-job training events.
• The SPX Network participated in nine international and national fairs, buyers-sellers meetings, and other matchmaking or promotional events.
For further information on Colombian SPX Network, please contact:
Mr Eduardo Salas, National Coordinator, at e-mail: unidoss@colnodo.apc.org
1The October 2001 United Nations Exchange rate of €1.089 per dollar has been used throughout this publication.
5. CUBA—La Havana: Keeping Cool with Local Air Conditioners
Keeping cool is helped by air conditioners in Cuba—and a local company OBE identified a market for a large num- ber of air conditioners for mobile offices. To manufacture these units, the company required air conditioning containers made of metal. To identify potential suppliers, the company got in touch with La Havana SPX.
Another enterprise in the same line of business ACUSE, had to import metal components for repairing air-conditioners. Since imports involved delays and consumed foreign exchange, ACUSE was on the look out for a local supplier and contacted the SPX of La Havana.
Established in 1992 with the technical assistance of UNIDO, the SPX of La Havana is supported by the State Committee for Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Foreign Trade of the Republic of Cuba. At present, it counts 123 large State-owned enterprises —each one equal to five small and medium enterprises, or SMEs. The SPX members cover all economic sectors of the country as: metal-mechanical 43 per cent; services 39 per cent; textiles- clothing 5 per cent; electric-electronic 5 per cent; construction, plastics-rubber, mining-metallurgic and medical- pharmaceutical 2 per cent each.
Major milestones
The main objective of the SPX is to promote contacts and business links for all Cuban industries and services resulting in subcontracting and partnerships. To increase exports, substitute imports and promote foreign investment, the SPX provides business contacts with foreign companies leading to the transfer of industrial technology and know-how. Since it’s establishment 10 years ago, the SPX has achieved the following milestones:
• Successful subcontracting matchmaking agreements numbering 804.
• Promotion of 1,579 affiliated companies in the media.
• Participation in 24 international subcontracting fairs abroad with 120 Cuban companies.
• Participation as an exhibitor in 30 international fairs in Cuba.
• Organization of 20 technical events, training seminars and business meetings.
• Organization of 30 seminars and conferences.
• Over 300 company interviews.
New orders keep coming
In achieving these results, the SPX of La Havana has had the cooperation, affiliation and membership of a number of national and international organizations. The SPX is a founding member of the ‘Asociación Latino-Americana de Bolsas de Subcontratación’ (ALABSUB), a member of the UNIDO SPX Club, an active participant in the AL-INVEST Programme of the European Union, and a consultant to Cuba’s EUROCENTERs. Moreover, it works in close contact with all SPXs around the world, Chambers of Commerce, business promotion centres and with COPECOs.
It is through these networks that the SPX was able to identify a subcontracting partner to provide metal con - tainers for mobile air conditioners for the Cuban company OBE. In this process, the SPX successfully linked a large public sector enterprise, COMETAL to provide the large metal containers. As a result of another matchmaking exercise by the SPX, a local company ICEM is producing these components for ACUSE for over a year now, and new orders keep coming in.
For further information on La Havana SPX please contact:
Mr Pedro Florido Gómez, Director, at e-mail: bolsa@infocex.cu
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