The intelliFLEX trade mission to LOPEC in Munich, Germany was a smashing success, with member companies and organizations in the delegation reporting dozens of qualified leads along with a robust amount of market intelligence generated at the show.
Even better, several intelliFLEX member organizations will receive funding from Global Affairs Canada’s Global Opportunities for Associations (GOA) program, either for exhibiting or attending the conference. It all adds up to a true return on investment for this year’s LOPEC delegation members.
- According to post-trip reports from members, more than 120 qualified leads were generated by Canadian organizations (for an average of roughly 10-15 per organization)
- These leads are expected to generate ~$1.1 million in revenue in Year 1, and ~$3 million in Year 2 (well above intelliFLEX projections prior to the show)
- Member company Voltera reported 30 qualified leads for its printing equipment
- Several leads were also generated by intelliFLEX that are open to anyone, not just attendees (contact intelliFLEX for more information)
A total of 13 organizations participated in the trade mission, which was largely exploratory, with seven receiving Global Affairs funding for travel support and three (including intelliFLEX itself) for exhibiting at the conference.
Members who received funding to attend or exhibit at LOPEC included:
- GGI Solutions
- TF Massif
- Memtronik Innovations
- Varitron
- Voltera (exhibitor)
- Brilliant Matters (exhibitor)
- ICI – Not-for-profit research centre
- C2MI – Not-for-profit research centre
Other members who attended but did not receive funding included the National Research Council, nsm Norbert Schläfli AG, Ynvisible and Sheridan College. Voltera, TF Massif and Brilliant Matters also reported the identification of potential EU distribution partners.
intelliFLEX’s Canada Pavilion was a focal point of LOPEC, with member organizations able to hold meetings and conduct business development right on the trade show floor in a space provided by intelliFLEX. A Canada/Organic Electronics Industry Association (OE-A) reception was also organized by intelliFLEX, with 26 OE-A members (including all board members) in attendance, providing another boost to members and their business development efforts.
intelliFLEX’s delegation attended LOPEC, produced by the OE-A, between March 18 and 21 with a goal of diversifying the customer and partner base of the Canadian printable and flexible electronics industry. Because Europe is better developed than Canada in commercializing flexible and hybrid electronics, there’s more of a critical mass of customers to which our members can sell.
For these and other reasons the event was very well-received by members, with several indicating they’d like to organize a similar mission next year. All attending members reported a good return on investment, with the Global Affairs funding reducing the up-front risk of investing into an exploratory mission without knowing its exact potential.