A trade mission to Holland has landed back at Manston Airport after literally testing the water for its products and services.
Eight local companies attended the Aquatech Trade Fair in Amsterdam on 6-7 November, where they were joined by the team from Kent International Business and the 2 Seas Trade Project, which is supported by the EU’s Interreg IVA fund.
The Kent delegation used the two day event to showcase their high-tech skills in water treatment, water re-use, monitoring, sensoring and detection, and water management, and develop trading partnerships with other international businesses in the water industry.
On successfully returning from the mission, Steve Samson, Trade Development Manager at Kent County Council, said: “For companies wishing to expand overseas, there’s no substitute for actually visiting a target market, especially when it’s as simple as hopping over to the Netherlands on the direct KLM flight from Manston. We hope that the international contacts made at Aquatech will lead to new overseas orders for Kent firms.”
The eight strong Kent delegation included Broadstairs based Aquaread, the award winning water quality testing equipment company, and Algaecytes Ltd, which is developing algae derived bioactive ingredients from its offices at Discovery Park. The other Kent delegates included water treatment experts Leviathan Water, drainage specialist Free Flow Ltd, plus Pura Design Ltd, Rainbow Water Services, Free Radicals Technology and CSO Technik.
Charles Buchanan Chief Executive of Manston Airport, said: “This clearly demonstrates the role the airport can play in enabling Kent companies to achieve their international aspirations by linking the county with the rest of the world.”
The mission to Aquatech follows the recent ‘Doing Business in the Netherlands’ seminar, organised by UK Trade & Investment and Air France KLM, in collaboration with Kent International Business and the 2 Seas Trade Project, at Manston.