Pitch it – with export funding at stake

Pitch it! is a new event at Elmia Subcontractor where a company can win a SEK 250,000 (EUR 25,000) subsidy for a future export venture. First to take up the challenge was Glenn Wilander, CEO of QTech in Anderstorp, Jönköping County.
“The hardest part was to include as much as possible and not leave out anything important,” he says.

In front of both an audience and an expert jury, Glenn Wilander described how QTech plans to grow its export sales. The company has already dipped a toe into the Norwegian market and wants to expand into both Finland and Denmark. The funds on offer would mainly be used for that venture.

“It was great fun to have the chance to present QTech and how we work locally to an audience that included local subcontractors,” he says. “We’ve succeeded well in the four years we’ve been operating and have gone from zero to 35 million kronor in net sales. It’s meant that a lot of production has ended up right here, thereby creating growth.”

QTech works with a number of suppliers in the region and can thereby deliver a total solution to the end customer. Smaller, entrepreneur-run companies may not always have the muscle to handle their own sales, which is one thing QTech can help with.

“QTech markets the region’s suppliers and we go into the projects together,” Wilander says.

The funding of up to SEK 250,000 is being put up by the Swedish Agency for Economical and Regional Growth plus Region Jönköping. One requirement is that the company must match the amount of the subsidy. In addition to QTech six other companies also chose to pitch their idea. Optocomp of Gislaved in Jönköping County also did so on the stage in Hall D.

Based on his export experience in Norway, Glenn Wilander knows how a company can be an export success:

“Bring in a consultant who is an expert in your field, who knows the business sector, and who speaks the same language. Understanding the culture is everything.”