A UBIFRANCE delegation recently spent a week exchanging with public transit and rail executives in the Northeast corridor. From April 23 – 26, representatives of market-leading French-based companies including Bureau Veritas, ROV Developpement, Oktal, SNCF Voyages, Fimor, STRAEN, Oxand and Texelis met with the Federal Railroad Administration , engineering firm Parsons , Amtrak , the New Jersey Transit and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority . The companies also met over 20 potential business partners during a networking reception at the French Embassy and personalized B-to-B meetings. The delegation headed back to France highly satisfied with the contacts generated during the week, and eager to pursue business with these future American partners and clients.

France was well represented at the 26th edition of the Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS 26) in Los Angeles, California, that took place on May 8, 2012. Michelin, IES SYNERGY, IFP, DBT and MATRA, all members of the France-Avere, exhibited their technologies at their booth organized by UBIFRANCE. Meanwhile, a delegation of French SMEs and SMIs, conducted by UBIFRANCE, met several U.S., Chinese and Japanese companies that could turn into future partnerships. The delegation is extremely pleased with their experienced at the EVS26 and eager to move forward with their prospective business partnerships with other international companies. Read the aricle for further details and complete summary (in French) by clicking the following link.

  Though it was not quite record breaking, the 2012 OTC gathered 89,400 people . During four days beginning on March 30 th all sizes of oil and gas suppliers walked the aisles or exhibited at the Reliant (Houston, Texas). Business opportunities, conferences, technical workshops and even some cocktails and a golf tournament are at the heart of this expo and conference. The show definitely unites the world. All nations are represented; weather alone or in a delegation. Along with Canada, the UK or Belgium, France was there with 21 exhibiting companies in the French Pavilion.   And once again, as they have for more than 10 years, French companies were present to reaffirm their position in the sector . With companies that have been in business for more than 20 years they came to the OTC to offer high quality products and their expertise, as well as, reassure the industry of their commitment to Health, Environment and Security worldwide. And this year Ubifrance was present and exhibited with the delegation . So, if you didn’t get a chance to stop by and meet us, here is a list of this year’s exhibitors: AUTEXIER AXON’ CABLE SAS   BARDOT GROUP SA   BUREAU VERITAS                                                                                         MAREAL                                                                                                           CCI NORD PAS DE CALAIS                                                                         CYBERNETIX                                                                                                   DORIS ENGINEERING                                                                                 DOUCE HYDRO                                                                                             EIFFAGE Construction Métallique                                                        FUJI ELECTRIC France SA                                                                           GEP -AFTP IFPEN                                                                                                                IMECA                                                                        MECANIC SUD INDUSTRIE                                                                        PONTICELLI FRERES                                                                                     SAFT Amrerica Inc                                                                                       SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES SAS         S R I  TELEPHONE LE LAS                                                                                      VINCI TECHNOLOGIES                                   If you are looking to learn more about these companies please contact Maria Bolanos at: maria.bolanos@ubifrance.com , and follow the Energy sector on Twitter @UBIenergy for other news and up to date information.

  During the EVS26 World Congress, we will be hosting a French Electric Vehicle technologies delegation and organizing B2B meetings for them at the L.A. Convention Center.  The meetings will begin with a continental breakfast on Tuesday, May 8 th at 7:30 a.m. in Room 518 of the Convention Center.  For your reference, attached to this entry is the delegation listing featuring the companies / organizations / laboratories with a brief overview of their innovative technologies.  Please contact us and let us know what companies you would like to meet; feel free to share this opportunity with your colleagues as well.   Once we receive your company selections, we’ll sign you up and send you a personalized program.  The 30 minute meetings will conclude at 10:00 a.m. - but feel free to meet with 1, 2, 3, or 4 companies. Contact Trade Advisor Molly Swart for further information at Molly.Swart@ubifrance.fr , and follow on Twitter for the latest and up to date information.

  UBIFRANCE – The French Trade Commission will lead a rail and public transportation trade mission to the U.S.’s Northeast Corridor, specifically Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City April 23 – 26, 2012. The delegation of leading France-based rail companies will meet planning, engineering and procurement executives from public transportation authorities and private sector firms. The delegation will learn more about future opportunities and exchange best practices with executives from the Federal Railroad Administration and the following agencies: Amtrak , the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , and the New Jersey Transit . The delegation will also meet rail and transit executives from Parsons , one of the world’s premier transportation engineering firms, during a meeting at the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. These innovative French companies are visiting the Northeast Corridor, which refers to the area between Washington, D.C. and Boston, as it is the most dense area of rail and public transit in the entire U.S., with nearly 260 million annual passengers. In May 2011, the region received nearly $800 million in federal funding to improve the rail infrastructure, thus opening the door for new projects to start. Amtrak has plans not only to improve the existing infrastructure to speed the trains, but hopes to eventually construct new rail infrastructure in parts of the corridor in order to offer truly high-speed rail. In addition to learning about Amtrak’s visions for the area, the group will visit the maintenance facility of the New Jersey Transit, and learn about the MTA’s big project (called East Side Access) to connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Station. In addition to meetings with Parsons and the public agencies, UBIFRANCE has organized two networking opportunities, in Washington, D.C. and New York City. To kick off the trade mission, a reception will be held at the French Embassy in Washington D.C. April 23, during which the delegation can meet executives from the Washington metro, the WMATA , and other public and private sector rail and transit professionals. The second networking event will be at the UBIFRANCE office in New York City, where UBIFRANCE has organized one-on-one business-to-business meetings between the delegation and private transportation firms such as RATP Dev , AECOM, KS Engineering , Systra USA, IEI Transit and EIC Associates. The companies participating in the mission offer various products and services related to rail, and include Bureau Veritas , Fimor , Oktal , Oxand, SNCF Voyages , ROV Développement, STRAEN , and Texelis . Follow us on Twitter for up to date information. And for further information, please contact us.

  UBIFRANCE USA will welcome a 22 member Electric Vehicle Delegation in California the week of May 6, 2012.   The delegation EV France represents a consortium of French companies and organizations involved the research & development of electric vehicles, components, advanced batteries and related infrastructure technologies. While in the U.S., the delegation will attend the EVS 26 World Congress in Los Angeles , have B to B meetings with interested U.S. companies and research organizations, and attend visits with key actors in the U.S. electric vehicle industry including those involved in research. They will also network with their U.S. counterparts at a reception in their honor. Ideally, the companies seek partnerships for collaborative research and commercial opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.   Members of the delegation include: ADM Concept , AJS-ïd , Cooltech Applications , EBTS , ETESIA , FM Light House, Hutchinson , DBT , IFSTTAR , INDUCT ,  LMS Imagine , Modulowatt ,   Nexans , PSA Peugeot-Citroën , Renault , Renault Trucks , Tracetel , Watt Consulting , and other clusters. To meet with these companies, follow this link to sign up for the B to B meetings and plan to visit them at EV France booth at EVS 26   # 1250 . The delegation’s visit is sponsored by the French partnership agency-DGCIS and supported by the 4 international automotive clusters in France: ID4CAR , LUTB , Mov’eo and Vehicule du Futur .    

  The Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) market is one of the most active in the aerospace industry. The US UAV R&D spending will account for 76% of the world total UAV spending (around $29 billion based on Teal Group study of the sector). In UAV procurement, the US is forecasted to spend 69% of the total (UAV spending). Going from civil to military demand, many recent airframers are foreseen to join more established airframers on the market. On a technical point of view, the unmanned air systems have a very high potential growth in the coming years - offering true opportunities to companies starting in the business. Following two successful operations, UBIFRANCE is going to bring a new French delegation to the AUVSI show, the major UAV event in the world. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International will bring together in the Mandalay Bay convention center more than 500 exhibitors and 8 , 000 attendees from 40 countries. The latest unmanned systems platforms (for Air, Ground and Maritime demand) will be displayed on the show. For this 2012 edition (August 6 th to 9 th ), UBIFRANCE aerospace team will offer even more, providing a booth to French companies and organizations, for meetings and products display. A seminar will be set up to discuss about the way to do business with American aerospace firms from a marketing to a legal point of view. Following the tradeshow , our Chicago-based team will deliver a contact follow-up service, enabling French attendees to  evaluate their new American contacts.   Follow us on twitter for the latest news, update, and information, and we look forward to seeing you in August!