SWE

IHMEC

IHMEC – Opening indoor hygiene SME’s exports to Middle East construction markets

IHMEC project creates and exports joint indoor hygiene solution of Central Baltic area SME’s into Middle East construction markets using indoor hygiene (IH) as a competitive edge. The project brings together relevant clusters from Finland, Sweden and Estonia into a meta-cluster which aims to enter into the Middle East construction market with new and tailor-made IH solutions.

The Challenge

The combination of globalization of both people and goods, urbanization and challenge of healthcare associated infections and resistant microbes enables the global spreading of harmful infections. The Middle-East (ME) climate forces people to remain indoors and hence, large crowds, who are meeting daily at e.g. shopping centres, airports, schools and hospitals, are at risk of catching infections. Traditional means of good hygiene arr no longer sufficient and new solutions are desperately needed to prevent the global spreading of serious infections.

Although Middle East market holds lucrative business opportunities, they cannot be utilized by a single company or cluster. All actors involved in planning, designing, building and furnishing indoor spaces are needed to reach effective IH results. However, most of the business actors in IH field are small or medium sized (SME’s) and lack the necessary knowledge and resources to export to host markets of considerable culture physical distance. IHMEC consortium has the needed combination of local, indoor hygiene and marketing capability.

The Outcomes

IHMEC creates relevant cluster from Sweden, Estonia and Finland into a meta-cluster; compiles a data base on IH research, technology and the target markets; develops, tests and tailors IH solutions; designs viable networked business models, market entry strategies and sales operations; as well as involves experts from the host markets for Central Baltic companies to enter markets and close sales. The aim is target customer segments with which long term business relationships can be developed.