From 1 December 2020 and initially as a test for one year, Torgeir Hjerde has been hired by Biotech North to generate sales for our members in the cluster, and first to test this is Marealis and Calanus. For both companies, Asia is a large market with enormous potential for their products. On the other hand, it is demanding for small businesses to step out into the world. Their sales departments are small, they have few products in the portfolio, the sales processes for products in marine biotechnology take a long time. Biotech North see a great potential for learning across companies.
Torgeir Hjerde has a long career in marine special products to Asia. He will therefore be able to provide companies with a relevant network of contacts and knowledge of the market. And by bringing together more products and uniting the companies’ sales / marketing work, the cluster and the companies hope that they can achieve a more focused investment in the selected geographical area. Such a commercial organization is innovative and can help lift companies’ turnover faster than if they had done this on their own.
With the help of Innovation Norway Arctic, the cluster and its members can now further develop the idea, test it out and hopefully it will give such good results that it can be further developed both in Asia, but perhaps also in other markets. And the cluster also hopes that they can inspire companies in other industries to also think about increased collaboration, also in sales.
For questions contact Torgeir Hjerde, torgeir@biotechnorth.no, +47 9774792
