Back from a trade show in Warsaw, Thierry Bonnefoy, boss of Leygatech, an SME specializing in technical packaging for the food industry, does not hide his astonishment. “I was surprised by the vitality, the dynamism of the people I met. The companies had well-filled order books and seemed unconcerned about an interruption in Russian gas supplies. To be honest, I had the impression that they had more resilience than us. » The leader of Leygatech, which already generates nearly half of its turnover from exports, now has good hopes of finalizing a contract with two or three manufacturers met on site. And he is not alone in this case.
“In my opinion, there are even more activities and projects than usual, especially around the subject of electric mobility”confirms Adrian Feder, export manager of Emitech Group, specialist in tests and certifications, in particular for the automotive industry, which works with R&D centers based in the Czech Republic or Romania.
Despite the war in Ukraine, many French companies continue to prospect in Eastern Europe. Behzad Cirkin, commercial director of Ukal, an Alsatian company specializing in agricultural equipment, has just returned from a mission in Romania and is preparing to leave for Greece. In the context of rising prices and in view of the looming food crisis, the company is more than ever looking for new partners in Eastern Europe.
“The worries have subsided”
“After the initial shock following the Russian aggression, the concerns subsided relatively quickly”confirms Laurence de Touchet, director of the Central and Eastern Europe zone of Business France, the agency that supports French companies in their export development projects. “Today, we are not seeing a massive withdrawal from these markets: on the contrary, there is still a lot of interest in the prospects for development, even if this is not without long-term questions. »
“After Covid-19, companies decided to put fewer eggs in the major export basket. The idea that we had to refocus on Europe emerged”, Laurence de Touchet, director of the Central and Eastern Europe zone of Business France
The interest in the Polish, Czech or Romanian markets is all the more keen as it is recent. The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the weaknesses of more distant markets, such as Asia or America. “At the end of 2019, when I arrived at the Warsaw office, our concern was to convince French companies to come to Eastern European marketsrecalls M.me of Touchet. After Covid-19, companies decided to put fewer eggs in the large export basket. The idea that we had to refocus on Europe emerged. We no longer had such difficulty capturing the interest of the business leaders we saw arriving in the region. »
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