University and Council bring Chinese business delegation to Bolton
The University of Bolton and Bolton Council are delighted to be supporting a new business-to-business trade exhibition – the E3 Business Expo. Aimed at North West businesses and entrepreneurs, it is to be held on 3 March 2016 in the Premier Suite of the Macron Stadium in Bolton, starting at 10am and ending at 4.30pm.
The University and the Council are especially pleased to be working with a University alumnus, Marco Li, to bring to the event a delegation of local government officials and businesses from Sihui City, which is under the jurisdiction of Bolton’s sister city, Zhaoqing, in Guangdong, China.
The Deputy Mayor of Sihui City, Mr Zhixiong Zhang, will be accompanied by the Heads of Sihui’s Bureau of Commerce and its Investment Promotion Bureau. Sihui is well known historically in China as a centre for jade products, and today hosts a nationally recognised ‘HiTech Industrial Zone’ spanning some 100 km2.. The HTZ is home to some 250 companies engaged in a wide range of industries including electronic information, biological pharmacy, smart materials, non-ferrous metal processing, and automotive parts together with schools, hospitals and hotels.
On this visit, the delegation will include the Chairmen from three companies based in Sihui, including
Guangdong PTFE Products Factory Co Ltd, which employs more than 250 staff and whose main products are colour PTFE tape, pipeline thread sealant, thread seal string, sealing paste, and PTFE pipe.
Guangdong Yatai New Material Technology Co Ltd is a high-end technology company engaged in the development of carbon fibre composite products used in the aerospace, automotive and shipbuilding industries. It is looking to expand its export markets.
Guangdong Sihui ShiLi Connecting-Rod Co Ltd is mainly involved in the production of engine connecting rod assemblies and supplies to leading Chinese car manufacturers such as Dongfeng, Yuchai, BYD, the Great Wall Motor Company, Geely and Changan. The company has OS9000.ISO approval and is looking to develop its markets and partnerships internationally.
The E3 Business Expo is hosted and organised by 1 Events Media, the company behind the annual E3 Business Awards. Developed for small and medium sized enterprises across the whole of the North West region, the one-day event will feature around 60 stands, a busy programme of short seminars, and a series of speed & table networking sessions hosted in association with 4N Networking and 8 Business Networking. Visitors will also be able to take advantage of free marketing advice at stand C20, where Chartered Marketers will be delivering drop-in clinics on behalf of CIM (the Chartered Institute of Marketing).
University of Bolton Business Development Director, Martyn Shaw said: ‘1 Events Media has made a very positive contribution to the North West with its E3 Business Awards, and we are delighted to have played a part in broadening the reach of its first Expo to include companies from China. It is an added pleasure to see the efforts the Council, the University and one of our alumni, Marco Li, who studied with us more than 10 years ago, come to fruition. I very much hope that later this year we can take a trade and education mission from Bolton to China.’
Said Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Cliff Morris: ‘We are looking forward to welcoming the government officials and businesses from Sihui, which is part of Zhaoqing, to our town. In 2005 we signed a friendship agreement with the City of Zhaoqing and since then links have continued to improve in terms of education, culture and commerce. Our Business Bolton and Ask Bolton Libraries teams will also be at the Expo on the day to promote the range of services we offer to help local businesses.’
As a one day event, the Expo condenses the exhibition, the networking sessions and a series of seminars into just a few hours – between 10am and 4.30pm. The idea behind the format is that it creates a packed programme of activities and ensures that visitors can use their time as productively as possible.
In addition to the seminars and free marketing advice, attendees can also call on the experience of various business support organisations including UK Trade & Investment, the Intellectual Property Office, Companies House and others. Specialist private sector agencies will also be on hand to demonstrate cutting-edge solutions to some of the most common challenges facing business.
Entrance to the Expo is free but anyone intending to visit is advised to register in advance rather than at the door, thereby avoiding queues. The registration form can be found here.