Denmark: Offshore Wind International B2B Event Attracts Large Players

Players from Denmark and abroad are now signing up for the international B2B event for the offshore wind sector, OWIB 2012, on November 14-15 in Esbjerg. Over the course of a few years, Offshore Wind International Business2Business has grown into one of the leading events in the global offshore wind sector.

Among the businesses who have already signed up for OWIB are some of the world’s largest turbine manufactures and developers from Denmark and abroad. One of them is the energy company DONG Energy that operates a range of offshore wind farms.

Bjarne Sloth Jacobsen, Senior Harbour, Transport & Logistic Manager with DONG Energy Wind Power, says:

“We’re looking at a growing offshore market where wind farms get bigger and bigger and are built farther from coasts and in deeper waters than they’ve been before. OWIB is a relevant forum where we can meet the sector and learn about in what way other companies are involved in technology development. And we keep on aiming to produce clean and reliable energy.”

Good sense in joining OWIB

Development Manager Morten Holmager, Offshore CenterDanmark is responsible for the concept. He says:

“Turbine manufacturers and developers who have joined OWIB in previous years have indicated they benefit greatly from OWIB.”

One of them said his company often spends 1-2 hours on meeting a single potential supplier and that this amount of time is in many cases fruitless, but the company has to meet suppliers to find the right ones. At OWIB, they can have 17 meetings in one day and waste no more than 15 minutes per company if it turns out there is no basis for collaboration.

Morten Holmager adds:

“This demonstrates very well the efficiency of OWIB concept.”

This is the sixth year running that OWIB gathers the international offshore wind technology for an entire day of speed dating with the opportunity to meet new partners, suppliers and interest groups face to face. Last year 325 people from 12 nations joined this unique event.

In the same way as in previous years, OWIB is organised in collaboration with Invest in Denmark under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Invest in Denmark attracts foreign companies and helps them establish themselves in Denmark.

Furthermore, the Danish Wind Industry Association and Esbjerg Business Development Centre have prepared a special conference programme focusing on the sector’s future challenges under the title ‘The Future Demand of the Offshore Wind Supply Chain.” Finally, the UK is going to host a side event on November 15 focusing on opportunities for collaboration between British and Danish businesses.

Morten Holmager says:

“OWIB has become an important meeting place for the global offshore wind sector, and we’re giving participants the chance to meet one another in an informal setting where they can enter into a dialogue with new partners. The conference and the side events will revolve around critical questions, and it’s our ambition for OWIB to become a must for players in the sector.”

OWIB – Offshore Wind International Business2Business – is an international forum organised by Offshore CenterDanmark, where companies can have brief, informal meetings with suppliers and partners and market themselves to potential customers.

Participants in OWIB receive a list of all those who have signed up, and they have the chance to ask for meetings with representatives from specific companies, energy companies or industry organisations. Offshore Center Danmark will then organise the meetings in a way that allows as many participants as possible to talk to one another.

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Press release, October 16, 2012; Image: Offshore Center Danmark