IBF 2013: Galvanizing industry for ITER
8 Apr 2013
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Sabine Portier, French Industrial Liaison Officer
The 2013 edition of IBF, in Toulon, attracted over 700 industry representatives from 24 countries. © Agence Iter France
One of the principal objectives of the ITER Business Forum is to promote industrial partnerships for ITER in Europe and abroad between primo-contractors to the project (Level 1), and potential subcontractors (Level 2 and beyond). The 2013 edition of IBF, held on 21-22 March in Toulon, attracted over 700 industry representatives from 24 countries.
Two weeks after the event, it's interesting to step back and assess the Forum's success. Were the companies that attended already known to the project? The statistics are now in. Of the 386 firms or organizations represented at IBF/13, a third (115) are Level 1 project contractors and another 97 have worked as subcontractors (Level 2, ...). When questioned, over 80 percent of companies expressed their objective to become (or remain) primo- or sub-contractors for the project.
We asked participants whether, in their view, the Forum was an efficient medium for companies to form business relationships and partnerships for the ITER Project.
We asked participants whether, in their view, the Forum was an efficient medium for companies to form business relationships and partnerships for the ITER Project.
Pascale Dauguet, Scientific Market Manager and International Expert for Air Liquide Advanced Technologies (France): "The exchanges we had with members of the ITER Organization and the European Domestic Agency F4E were fruitful, and gave us a good idea of the current status of the project. IBF/13 also offered our purchasing and project responsible officers the opportunity to meet new potential suppliers. We will now analyze the capacities of these suppliers with a view to optimizing our outsourcing. The contacts we formed are potentially very valuable to us, for our work for ITER but also for other Air Liquide Advanced Technologies projects. Having all of these actors in one place for several days was very useful!"
Of the 386 firms or organizations represented at IBF/13, a third (115) are Level 1 project contractors and another 97 have worked as subcontractors.© Agence Iter France
Kyung-Ho Park, Project Manager for Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (Korea): "It was very significant for the representatives of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (HHI), the largest industrial company in the world, to be present at the IBF/13, which was quite well organized. HHI is manufacturing two sectors of ITER vacuum vessel as contractor to the Korean Domestic Agency and also the toroidal field coil structures which was awarded by the Japanese Domestic Agency. In the progress of manufacturing these core components of the ITER Project, HHI has prepared and equipped various facilities and workshops tailored for ITER. HHI has also experienced many trials and errors, which have resulted in the acquisition of important knowhow and technology. We hope this kind of experience and knowhow can be used for project improvement and development in order to achieve expected results in the nearest future."
Jean-Luc Borel, Regional Director for KSB SAS (Germany): "Now in its third edition, IBF has become indispensable for the actors of the ITER Project, especially the industrial companies. We were able to hear the latest on the project from the ITER Organization, from the European Domestic Agency, and from representatives of diverse areas of industry who are potential clients for an equipment supplier like KSB. The information we learned from the presentations was of a practical nature and immediately exploitable in terms of potential opportunities. The IBF/13 event brings together and federates the suppliers engaged in this complex scientific and industrial project. What's more, the communication tools developed by the French Industrial Committee (C2I) allow us to remain in touch with the project between two editions of IBF. As a potential Level 2 actor of the project, we were favourably surprised by the success and the quality of the one-to-one meetings that we participated in. Two examples: a meeting with an important French group—already a contractor for ITER (and a client of KSB's for valves )—became the opportunity to learn about current tender offers and opened our eyes to new regional associations. Our exchanges have continued beyond IBF in Toulon, and visits are planned. A second meeting with a group based in the PACA region has resulted in possible pump activities for KSB beyond the scope of ITER. As a last note, I would have to mention the quality of all the informal discussions that I was able to have during IBF/13..."