Meet the green entrepreneurs building a bright future in energy-efficient housing.
Big ambitions
In the central Romanian town of Brasov, Eugeniu Lisnic runs JirmaN Engineering, an SME that designs and builds wooden houses.
Eugeniu had big ambitions to grow his business and was keen to seize the opportunities offered by new technologies to enhance his houses and widen his market. He turned to his Enterprise Europe Network branch based in the CENTI Technological Transfer Centre in nearby Cluj-Napoca for help.
Matchmaking
After meeting Eugeniu and understanding his needs, Network expert Simona-Clara Barsan invited him to an international green-energy matchmaking and networking event. Held in the Transylvania region, the event was co-organised with Network counterparts from Fejér County in Hungary. Barsan notes, "As there are no other networks in the Transylvanian region that are helping SMEs to internationalise, the Enterprise Europe Network is truly unique." Before the event, Simona made sure Eugeniu was fully prepared by drafting a company profile and setting up meetings with the best prospects.
During the event, Lisnic hit it off with Endes Attila, a Hungarian entrepreneur who builds and promotes eco-friendly houses with integrated renewable energy solutions like solar panels and wind generators that cover a house's entire energy demands. Attila was advised by Hungarian Network partner Csilla Buda who has helped the entrepreneur find several foreign business partners over the years.
Building a successful partnership
Not long after their first meeting, Eugeniu Lisnic and Endes Attila agreed to share their technology and expertise in innovative eco-friendly housing construction. Today, thanks to this meeting, they have each entered completely new markets with their innovative concept of house building that integrates modern technologies to capture green energy with the use of biomass sources for wall insulation. Both see a bright future ahead, and say they would recommend the Network to other entrepreneurs.
"I have found a new partner with new ideas to help make my business grow... I owe this new step to my advisers from the Network who knew how to bring the right people to the right place at the right time!" says Eugeniu Lisnic.
Endes Attila is just as enthusiastic, saying the companies have big plans for the future.