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Kuopio goes Nordic 2019-2020

During the autumn of 2019 and spring of 2020, the internationalisation activities of the Kuopio region will be directed towards the Nordic market. Access to the Nordic market for companies in the area is supported through several internationalisation trips.

• In September 2019, life science companies in the Kuopio region will participate in Nordic Life Science Days in Malmö, Sweden.
• In October 2019, a delegation of companies from the construction and health sectors will head to Northern Norway.
• In January 2020, an export promotion trip and export training for the food industry to the Swedish markets will be organized by the Fast Track project.

The aim is to create Nordic and international business opportunities for companies in the Kuopio region, get new business ideas, expand networks, and gain stronger visibility together. The Nordic market is close to us both geographically and culturally, and there are many market opportunities for the construction and food industries, for example. The program of each trip will be tailored to the needs of the participating companies. We are looking for 5-10 companies to each business group during the spring 2019.

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Export promotion trip for the food industry to Sweden 28.-30.1.2020

Preliminary Travel Plan:

• Customised business visits and partner candidate meetings
• Networking event
• Possibility for visiting at a trade fair, e.g. Nordic Organic Expo in November 2019 in Malmö (www.nordicorganicexpo.com and www.ecolifeshow.com) or a food and wine fair in Stockholm

The export promotion trip of the food industry includes an export training organized by the Fast Track project. Fast Track offers expert market entry service (4-6 months), which includes export coaching sessions and a joint contact trip to the target market. The coaching focuses on partner search supported by business experts at home and in the taget market. The service is carried out partly online, and it includes joint marketing activities. The service is implemented in cooperation with Savonia University of Applied Sciences, the Kuopio Region Chamber of Commerce, Team Finland (regional and target market) and BusinessKuopio.

The trip is coordinated by Fast Track project. For more information please contact Minna Tarvainen (see contact information on the right).

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Internationalisation trip to the Norwegian market 7.–11.10.2019

The internationalisation trip to Norway in October is targeted to construction, manufacturing and health technology companies. The main destination of the trip is Bodø in Norway, but meetings and visits can also be organized in other cities, such as Oslo, Stavanger or Mo I Rana.

Travel plan

• Monday – Tuesday 7.–8.10.2019 (to be confirmed)
• Possibility to organize business meetings in Oslo, Stavanger, or Mo I Rana. The program and meetings will be organised according to the needs of the participating companies.
• Wednesday – Thursday 9.–10.10.2019: Bodø, Norway

Business meetings organized by BRUS in Bodø:

• Manufacturing industry: MacGregor, Bomek AS and Nordkontakt/Elektro AS
• Construction: Gunv. Johansen Bygg; company presentation and visit to the construction sites
• Health technology: Visit to the Nordlandssykehuset hospital
• Thursday 10.10.2019 evening get-together, hosted by the cities of Bodø and Kuopio

The trip is coordinated by BusinessKuopio and Invest & Grow in Kuopio Region project. For more information: Mikko Juuti and Eeva Lehtomäki (contact information on the right).

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Nordic Life Science Days 10.–12.9.2019, Malmö, Sweden

Nordic Life Science Days is the largest Nordic partnering conference dedicated to the life science industry. Since its inception in 2013, the event has nurtured a community of people from the world of life science and created a unique place to do business. It is said that most attendees are extremely pleased with the informal atmosphere, combined with an organised approach to meeting highly relevant people.

A business delegation (Kasve Oy, Neurocenter Finland, Medfiles, Charles River Laboratories, A.I.Virtanen Institute and Saparo Translational Research Oy) from the Kuopio region will participate in the Nordic Life Science Days conference and exhibition. BusinessKuopio will have an exhibition stand as a part of the Business Finland pavilion. A business delegation from Kuopio attended the Nordic Life Science Days also in 2018. You can read more about the experience in the blog.

The trip is coordinated by BusinessKuopio and Invest & Grow in Kuopio Region project. For more information: Mikko Juuti and Eeva Lehtomäki (contact information on the right).

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Top know how in Kuopio area

Finland is known for thousands of lakes, green forests, northern lights, and the midnight sun. Surrounded by unspoilt nature and water, Kuopio is the leader in health and wellness expertise, the growing city is strongly characterized by education and research, culture, tourism and a diversity of businesses. Kuopio is a dynamic and constantly growing business city. The region of Kuopio is a unique combination of science, technology, art, industry and security. It is also one of the country’s innovation hubs and an important university city. People in Kuopio are known as the forerunner of wellbeing, health and environment expertise. Kuopio is the home of several internationally recognised hi-tech and service companies.

Kuopio has grown very vigorously in recent years and is one of the most dynamic cities in Finland, whether measured in terms of house building, attraction, jobs or population growth. Kuopio’s growth has been especially rapid in the 2010s. Kuopio is one of the most dynamic cities in Finland. Kuopio has around 120,000 inhabitants, while nearly one million people live in the city’s area of influence.

Life Science

The Finnish health sector is getting a boost, creating a vital life science industry, where the field of digital health especially is growing at a rapid pace. There are currently around 500 companies in the Finnish health sector, operating throughout various areas. Regenerative medicine is one of the areas where Finland is a frontrunner. Looking at the research-pharmaceutical firms operating in Finland the main focus lies within neurology, cancer, vaccines and diabetes. Biotechnology has been a strong life science sector for a long time, especially during recent years.

Construction and Manufacturing industry

Manufacturing is the production of merchandise using labour and machines, tools, chemical and biological processing or formulation. This refers most commonly to industrial design, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale, but also to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech.

Health

Leverage the world’s best ecosystem for health R&D. The combination of a long-standing tradition in efficient healthcare, digitalization of health data has made Finland the premier location for health R&D. Today, Finland has over 300 companies operating in healthtech, including approximately 100 companies offering the manufacturing, design, clinical trial, regulatory and other services needed locally by both large players and startups. Finland’s export success has chiefly been in the electromedical and diagnostic imaging sectors. Finnish health technology exports continue to grow strongly.

Food and Beverage industry

Unique environment for business – Savilahti area

The Savilahti area, which also covers the Science Park, has hundreds of technology and service companies, several national research centres and numerous testing and analysis laboratories. The area is a unique combination of skills and know-how in the fields of health and well-being. Also several internationally successful companies have laid their foundations into the region. More information

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Companies

Nordic Life Science Days, Sweden, Malmö

• A.I.Virtanen Instituutti
• Charles River Laboratories
• Kasve Oy
• Medfiles
• Neurocenter Finland
• Saparo Translational Research Oy

Internationalisation trip, Norway, Bodø

• 3D Talo
• Kuopio Health innovation ecosystem

Partners

• Business Finland
• BusinessKuopio
• Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of North Savo
• City of Kuopio
• Fast Track project
• Invest and Grow in Kuopio Region project
• Regional Council of North Savo
• Savonia University of Applied Sciences

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London trip is organized by Fast Track project** and BusinessKuopio/Invest and Grow in Kuopio Region project*.

*) Invest and Grow in Kuopio Region project is coordinated by the Business Development Services of City of Kuopio (1.1.2018-30.6.2020). Funded by European Regional Development Fund, Regional Council of North Savo and the City of Kuopio.

**) Fast track project is coordinated by Savonia University of Applied Sciences and Kuopio Region Chamber of Commerce. Funded by European Social Fund and Centre for Econoic development, Transport and the Environment. Partners e.g. Business Finland and Team Finland.