The situation

A small Irish company, OK Welding (Marine) needed partners to further develop their technology from the development department to the market place. OK Welding tried to advertise for a partner and were overwhelmed by the responses from potential partners. They needed an intermediator to function as a filter for selecting a preferred partner and to assist with the legal work with the partner agreement.

The process

IRC Northern Ireland used their IRC bulletin board to facilitate a partner search and thereafter filter the leads together with their colleagues at other European IRC centers. They found a promising lead in the Norwegian company Red Band which had developed a product called MeasureMate, an unique ultrasonic robotic system for underwater thickness measurement of vessel hulls, available as a service to other owners and operators. This complemented OK's technology perfectly. Along with their colleagues at the SINTEF-hosted IRC in Norway, the Northern Ireland IRC started coaching the two potential partners towards a technology agreement.

"It's standard practice, really," says Addidle. "First came the technology audit - there's no point trying to broker a transnational technology transfer if the basic technology isn't there. Then came the meetings between the two firms, and here we were able to help with travel expenses."

The negotiations went on for six months, but the two companies finally reached a technical co-operation agreement. Addidle adds that OK made extensive use of the Northern Ireland IRC guide for companies considering international agreements. "Far too often," he says, "people conducting negotiations believe they have struck a deal, start to leave the office, and then hear, 'and of course there's our standard five per cent corporate discount'. The whole agreement can go out of the window."

The LEDU document, 'Business co-operation and licensing, a step-by-step guide', is comprehensive. "Effectively, it is a check list for SMEs, ensuring that nothing is overlooked," Addidle explains. "OK used it as a reference guide, enabling them to bring their discussions to fruition."

The outcome

The technology partnering ended successfully. The two partners have started to look at combining technology. They are already considering the possibilities offered by OK's water-backed welding in conjunction with Red Band's robotic sensing technology, and OK's know-how is now being used on the whole fleet of Red Band's tankers.

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Learning points

Use the expertise in organisation like the Innovation Relay Centers to help in the:

1. Partner search process
2. Partner filtering process
3. Partner agreement negotiation process

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