About France

In the Irish Times, today, there is an interesting article written by a business journalist , Pamela Newenham. This article talks about a Clare man, Clem Garvey and opportunities for Irish graduates in France . Graduated from University College Dublin, he went on from KPMG chartered accountant to become few years later and plenty challenging positions,  NEOPOST’s chief operating officer. At the end of the article, Pamela Newenham quotes him “So many people and companies think they can do business in France without the language. If you don’t speak French, please don’t come here” http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/retail-and-services/wild-geese-clare-man-with-his-head-in-france-s-postal-cloud-1.1502546#

Gènes Diffusion et Dairymaster renforcent leur collaboration

Le 1er juillet dernier, en marge d’une visite en France de Monsieur Richard Bruton, ministre irlandais de l’Entreprise, de l’Emploi et de l’Innovation, accompagné par l’ambassadeur d’Irlande en France, Monsieur Paul Kavanagh, Gènes Diffusion a officialisé les relations économiques qui le lient depuis trois ans à Dairymaster. Rappelons que Dairymaster est une entreprise irlandaise qui a concédé, en 2009, à Gènes Diffusion la distribution exclusive en France du système automatisé de détection des chaleurs Heat Box. Elle est un des leaders mondiaux en termes d’équipements destinés à la production laitière.

A l’heure où plus de 200 Heat Box ont été installées sur l’ensemble de l’hexagone, Vincent Delcloy, responsable commercial et marketing chez Gènes Diffusion et Fergus O’Meara, directeur des ventes internationales chez Dairymaster ont signé un accord qui a pour objectif de renforcer les échanges établis entre les deux sociétés, mais aussi de poursuivre les travaux communs de recherche dans le secteur du monitoring bovin.

Article relevé dans Grands Troupeaux Magazine Newsletter – 31  Juillet 2012

Please read the recent interview given by Charlotte Jehanno to Duncan Keegan for the IFCCI April Newsletter. For more details please click here

UBI FRANCE and ABOUT FRANCE joined forces to project-manage a week study visit for the SNPCT representatives (Syndicat National des Professeurs Chefs de Travaux) in Dublin. The briefing was to visit educational institutions and companies to ascertain how new technology and digital are being applied to the teaching and learning process.

During their stay – from March 29^th to 31^st 2012 – they got the opportunity to meet up with:

• Germaine Noonan, Programme Manager from the School’s Business Partnership BITC www.bitc.ie
• Karina Howley, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility from KPMG www.kpmg.ie
• Kevin O’Rourke – Head of eLearning Support & Development – and his team (LTTC) from DUBLIN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY www.dit.ie
• Sandra Maguire, Managing Director from Edubills www.edubills.ie
• Terry Maguire , Project Manager for Maths Eyes Project
• Joanna Norton, Founder of  Click4ESOL www.click4esol..com
• Lorcan Murphy, Project Manager for InTouch Gen2 SME, from DIAGEO www.diageo.com
• Helen Hayes, Enterprise Learning and Development manager in VODAFONE and her colleague Ruth Barry, Corporate   Propositions Manager www.vodafone.com
• Margaret Phelan and Margaret Keane from the Centre for Learning and Teaching (CeLT) from the INSTITUTE OF  TECHNOLOGY  TALLAGHT www.ittdublin.ie

The participants went back to France with new ideas and new contacts, hoping that they will lead to potential partnerships and cross-collaboration between French and Irish Institutions and companies.

On February 25^th 2012, the Mayors of Haute-Corse held their General Assembly at the community venue in Sisco (Corsica / France) and invited the company HEALTHCOMMS and its representative Paul MOONEY to present its software. (See further details on www.healthcomms.ie). Charlotte JEHANNO delivered a presentation of the concept in French and assisted Paul for his 3 day trip.

She also secured two interviews with regional medium: one with the regional TV programme “FR3”, the second with the regional daily newspaper “CORSE MATIN”.

Here the services which were provided for HEALTHCOMMS:

• Translating different commercial literature,
• Nationwide documentary translation and voice over
• Liaising with the Corsican health adviser,
• Presenting the concept at the Haute-Corse Mayors’ AGM
• After meeting follow-up

FR3 Interview:

Translation of the interview done by Charlotte Jehanno, on behalf of HealthComms
“…. The meeting also provided an opportunity to present an Irish software, which allows people living on their own to ask for some help or advice. They just need a computer and a broadband connection.

“Thanks to the software we have developed, people are able to communicate not only with their friends and family members but also with medical services or carers. It is particularly important for the elderly, the people living on their own in rural or urban areas”.

It would cost €20 per month for the subscribers. The software is presented as a cost-effective solution for local authorities with the advantage to reduce non-emergency interventions. All these aspects will be further analysed”

Journalist: Pierre NICOLAS / Cameraman: Marie-Laure DAGUENEL –

February 25^th, 2012 – 19-20PM NEWS -FR3

CORSE MATIN Interview:

Please, click on this link to get the article

An Irish solution to the medical wasteland in Corsica

Yesterday the mayors from Haute-Corse held their General Assembly at the community venue in Sisco. About 50 mayors attended the Assembly to discuss a broad range of topics.
In the morning, road safety, security and loose animals (a recurring issue) were on the agenda. The afternoon meeting was devoted to an interesting and innovative concept put forward by HealthComms. This Irish company presented their software, an application designed to support communication between users and the emergency services. Paul Mooney, a computer engineer and co-founder, explained that: “Through a Webcam and Skype, users are connected to the computer of 7 other people: friends, family members, GP’s and, more importantly, emergency services if needed. We launched the project in November 2011 and we have now penetrated the Irish and British markets. Corsica is the first region of France where we are giving a presentation.”
Avoiding non-emergency interventions
Jean-Louis Bordonado, an emergency physician for the SAMU, welcomed this concept: “Membership costs €30, then you need to pay €20 per month. There are also applications available for iPhone or iPad. For emergency services such as ours, it will allow us to make the distinction between emergency and non-emergency interventions, because as you may know, 80% of our work is related to non-emergency cases!”
Daniel Di Giambattista, a doctor and fire brigade’s chief, also praised the concept even if he expressed some concerns: “This system is still dependent on electricity, so power cuts due to thunder storms as they sometimes occur in Corsica may be a problem. Moreover it is also dependent on phone lines. That said, I think this software is comparable to remote alarm systems but it is more sophisticated. Indeed when we see patients online, we will assess more easily their health status, we will be able to see if they are sweating or if they have breathing difficulties.”
HealthComms has thus succeeded in convincing the audience. As Dr Josette Dall’Ava Santucci pointed out: “If I have well understood, our ministers intend to allocate funds for telecare. With this money, we could finance this technology and it could allow the older people who are the most disadvantaged to be connected to the software.”
Gilles Simeoni, a local councillor, asked the following question to the prefect: “Do you think it is possible to get a co-funding from the Region, the State and Europe in order to set up this system in Corsica?”
Paul Mooney will fly back to Dublin today. Yet he does not know for sure if he will come back to Corsica. However, if local councillors work on the project, Corsica might become the first region of France where this type of telecare services is used.
Journalist : Christophe LAURENT – claurent@nicematin.fr
Published on February 26th , 2012 – CORSE MATIN

SAMCO got an  excellent 3 page review in the French Trade Magazine “Matériel Agricole” which was published in May.

Click on the link below to know more

MATERIEL AGRICOLE HORS SERIE MAI 2011

SIMA 2011 confirms recovery is underway in the farming equipment sector

Paris, 7th March 2011 – The 74th SIMA, the Paris International Agri-Business Show was held against a backdrop of much enthusiasm. “The last couple of years have been particularly difficult for equipment manufacturers in the farming sector, says Martine Dégremont, exhibition director, “and the success of SIMA 2011 is – I think – firm evidence that a recovery is under way. A number of exhibitors even revealed that they had secured significant sales as early as the 1st day if the exhibition.

According to Damien FETIS, Managing Director of HDS, a European designer of innovative high-power transmission systems for farming machinery, “SIMA 2011 went very well for us. We made many new contacts at the event, and even secured a number of very promising projects, although they have yet to be confirmed, of course. We very much felt that business was once again on the right track”.

Benoist Franquet, Chairman and Managing Director of Franquet, specialised in soil tillage, added: “This trade fair is becoming increasingly professional and we were struck this year by the high quality of the contacts we made and the sheer numbers of new visitors. There was a much more positive, more constructive atmosphere, and we felt that the recovery was under way”.

Patrick Lezer, member of the Management Committee and Export Manager for Razol, specialised in soil tillage, said that “After a couple of difficult years, we registered for this year’s SIMA with a measure of apprehension. But the quality of the contacts we established with farmers and the orders we closed at the show – and as a result the contracts that we entered into with our dealers who flocked to our stand – all made for an outstanding show and are evidence of a widespread recovery throughout the sector. And many visitors from overseas (the Far East, Asia, Africa, North Africa, etc.) were in attendance, hinting at strong growth prospects in these countries. SIMA 2011 was a great success!”

Patrick Perard, Managing Director of the PERARD Company founded in 1988 and well-known for its cutter bar trailers and grain carts, also spoke positively about the show: “French buyers were there of course, and we made some excellent contacts among them. We even closed a few deals – something which rarely happens! We were also aware of many more visitors from the US, Canada and Egypt. If I had to sum up this year’s show? I would say an excellent SIMA – the best since we started taking part in it”.

The aisles were packed from the minute the show opened on Sunday 20 February, setting the tone for SIMA 2011

• Despite the difficult economic climate, the exhibitors turned up in force: 1,300 came from 41 different countries, representing more than 1,550 brands. 50% of the companies present were from overseas – evidence of the international flavour of this year’s show. Also worth mentioning are the 285 companies who exhibited at SIMA for the first time this year.
• Visitors came in droves from all over the world: 209,800 entrances – 1 in 4 of which was from abroad - were registered over the 5 days, a slight increase on 2009 (208,550 entrances).
• A particularly broad selection of discussions were held with more than fifty workshops, conferences and visits to farms. The Paris 2011 AgriEvolution Conference took advantage of the record number of visitors to the show. The round-table discussions served as opportunities to take stock of the farming situations in several countries (India, Poland, China, the Ukraine, Romania, the US). Events which all served as opportunities for discussion and meetings!
• SIMAGENA (SIMA’s livestock & poultry section) was also highly successful. The highlights of this year’s show included the Prim’Holstein Avenir Awards and the Open shows with genetic selection criteria, as well as the packed Ring programme, which attracted a very high number of visitors. SIMAGENA has confirmed its status as the leading event for farmers, with more than 300 European animal breeders exhibiting, nearly 400 cattle (50% brood cows / 50% dairy cows) and a panel of international judges.
  The results of the open shows and sales are available by clicking here

A significant increase in the number of overseas delegations

This was one of the notable features of SIMA 2011: opened in the presence of several overseas ministers, including Senegal’s Minister for Farming, it hosted more than 300 overseas delegations. Among them were a number of new countries, such as Cameroon, Senegal, Egypt, Kenya…
It’s worth noting that 46% of the journalists at SIMA were from outside France, coming from 43 different countries.

“We cannot win the fight for agriculture without innovation – and innovation in the service of the environment”

These were the words with which Bruno Le Maire, France’s Minister for Agriculture, inaugurated SIMA on Sunday 20 February. “More than 40% of the innovations on show here at SIMA are world firsts”, replied Valérie Lobry, General Manager of Comexposium’s food and agriculture department. “What you are seeing here is the farming equipment of the future”, added Jean-Pierre Bernheim, President of Axema, “solutions designed to meet the challenges facing farmers”. Among the various innovations on show, 33 were singled out in the SIMA INNOVATION AWARDS in recognition of their contribution to bringing about sustainable, high-performance agriculture.

On February 21^st, along with OMNIVORE event (www.omnivore.fr) LEADERS CLUB INTERNATIONAL run its 5^th European awards event. A superb celebration for innovative food concepts! Watch our video and get back to us for further details:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l-K7DXzr28

Foodservice Awards by Leaders Club International

Golden Palm : LA BARACCA, Cucina Italiana (Münich/Germany) www.labaracca.eu

Silver Palm : PB 2 (Neuilly-sur-Seine/France) www.pb2.fr

Bronze Palm : Kitchen Guerilla (Hamburg/Germany) www.kitchenguerilla.com