PUM Netherlands Senior Experts

The Sunday Leader - 27/04/2014

• The dutch contribution to social market economy in Sri Lanka

The PUM Netherlands Senior Experts (formerly known as NMCP) has completed over 400 projects assisting industries and service organizations in Sri Lanka.  PUM commenced its activities in Sri Lanka in 1990. We are proud to be serving the local industry for over 24 years providing them with much needed new technology.

The entrepreneur/company receives the much needed modern technology and knowhow the PUM expert gained throughout his career during over 30 years of service at a senior level. Our experts are happy to share their knowledge and experience. They give practical advice on how local businesses can make their ideas work to realize their vision. Our target group is small and medium-scale enterprises (SME) with a work force of around 100 employees.  SME’s generate employment opportunities contributing to the social market economy of a country and also provide support services to big industries. Therefore, SME’s are an invaluable asset to any country since they help larger enterprises to achieve their production and export targets. However, SME’s cannot afford to hire foreign experts. This is where PUM Senior Experts fills the gap. This enables SME’s to keep up with similar industries operating in other countries and contribute to the industrial development in the country they operate in.

PUM covers 75 sectors of industry and servicesand is active in 70 countries worldwide. These sectors include Agriculture, Arable farming, Horticulture, Dairy farming and processing of Dairy products, Fisheries, Bee Keeping, Metal, Rubber, Leather, Textile and Wood industry, Food and Beverage, Electronics and Chemical industry and also Information Technology, Health care, Transport& logistics, Tourism, hotels and catering, Publishing & Printing, Training & Education, Energy, Water & Environment. When the PUM expert finds that foreign exposure and links with Dutch industry would be beneficial to the local industry we organize training visits and business link visits to the Netherlands for one or two key persons from the local industry. Over 100 local entrepreneurs have visited the Netherlands during the past yearsunder this program.

A request made by a company serves as the basis for the placement of PUM experts. Working together with the PUM local representative in the country the company submits a request for assistance. At the PUM head office in The Hague, The Netherlands the country coordinator and sector coordinator matches an expert with the required background, knowledge and experience. Then the CV (curriculum vitae) of the proposed expert is sent to the company through the local representative. If the company agrees with it then we proceed with the international travel arrangements. All travel expenses are paid by PUM.

The requesting company’s obligation is to pick up the expert from the airport on his arrival and provide him with decent accommodation and food during his stay. They also have to provide him with local transport necessary for work and make sure that he is dropped at the airport for his return flight to the Netherlands. In many cases we have noticed that the expert ends up becoming a close friend of the entrepreneur. Generally the experts keep in touch with the company after their return to the Netherlands and continue their advice by e-mail. If required we offer follow up visits by experts to the same company.PUM works closely with the Netherlands Embassy, the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Industrial Development Board and Chambers of Commerce in the country. The contact details of the local representatives in Sri Lanka are given in the advertisement published in this supplement. Please visit our website www.pum.nl/home-ENfor more information.