European Commission, DG Trade ec.europa.eu/trade @Trade_EU

EU Exporters' Stories

BRM Aero - Czech airplanes soaring their way to Australia

BRM Aero is a Czech family-owned company making recreational aircraft. Founded by Milan Bříštěla and his son Martin in 2009, the company has been growing fast ever since.

Key info Founded in: 2009 Headquarters: Kunovice, Czech Republic Employees: 65 Annual turnover: €6.3 m The business aims at offering safe, ergonomic light aircraft with excellent flight characteristics and a timeless design. As a pilot, Milan has used his experience to develop new ways of producing the aircraft. Every Bristell aircraft is built to order, allowing each client to customise their purchase. The company has been exporting to Australia for several years, where the flyer-friendly planes are used in flying schools and by hobby pilots. With its vast distances and sparsely populated rural areas, Australia has almost 10,000 people holding a recreational pilot's certificate. Increased exports mean BRM Aero produces around 80 airplanes a year, a number which is steadily growing. If the EU and Australia were to sign a trade agreement, orders would be likely to grow further still.

How an EU-Australia Trade Agreement

could help:

Making trade easier for SMEs

An EU-Australia trade agreement would include a chapter dedicated to making it easier for small businesses in the EU to export to Australia – for example, by providing clear information in one place online about Australia's import requirements.

Simplifying export procedures

The trade deal could help make Australian export procedures easier for EU companies by, for instance, simplifying the paperwork that EU exporters have to complete.

Radka Krůtová, Marketing Director, BRM Aero

"From the start it was easy to export to Australia, as the procedure for getting our planes certified went very smoothly. An EU-Australia trade agreement would make it even easier to export – for instance, by getting rid of overlapping testing requirements in both the EU and Australia. And lower Australian tariffs on machinery could make it easier to sell our products at an even more competitive price."

European Commission, DG Trade ec.europa.eu/trade @Trade_EU

Australia Exporters' Stories

GJ Food - putting French delicacies on Australians’ plates

Missing the food culture from the motherland, the founders of this Sydney-based company started sharing his love for French food with Australian consumers.

Key info: Founded in: 1991 Headquarters: Sydney, Australia Employees: 7-8 Annual turnover: €1.24m The retail business started in 1991 but the history of GJ Food goes back even further. The mother of Georges – the founder of GJ Food – started a small bistro in Paris in the 1920s. Georges carried the tradition with him to Australia after moving there with his Australian wife in the 1970s. Today, the business has been passed on to his son, Rene, making this family's love for food a business that has been around for three generations.

GJ Food imports predominantly high quality French products and distributes them throughout Australia. Having been operating for 27 years, the company were among the first to introduce high quality French delicacies to the Australian market, including foie gras, fresh truffles and European mushrooms.

Today GJ Foods carries around 1000 top-end products and is looking to expand its already wide selection. The company can see that a trade agreement would make trade between Australia and the EU easier.

How an EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement could help:

Simplifying import procedures

One of the aims of the agreement is to make it easier for firms to export or import food products. This could mean less paper work and easier and more streamlined procedures for getting tasty European food products onto the Australian market.

Bringing down trade barriers

The negotiations also aim at cutting or lowering the tariffs on food products, while at the same time protecting high standards for human, animal and plant life and health. This would lower the cost for consumers and make GJ Food more competitive.

Rene Puechberty Director of GJ Food

"We sell French food because it is who we are and what we love. We love our heritage and take great pride and joy from sharing our passion and love of French cuisine, gastronomy and culture through food. For us, a trade agreement would help us continue with this, in an easier and more competitive way which can only benefit the end consumer."

European Commission, DG Trade ec.europa.eu/trade @Trade_EU

EU Exporters' Stories

Gränsfors Bruk Sweden - traditional craftsmanship from Scandinavia

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Going back to tradition was a winning concept for this Swedish axe company. Gränsfors Bruk’s history goes back over 100 years to a time when axes where an essential part of society – especially in Sweden with its large forestry sector.

With the introduction of the chainsaw in the 1960s the market changed. Axe producers around the world tried competing with lower prices and lower quality. When in 1985 Gabriel Brånby took over Gränsfors Bruk he decided to go back to its roots and started making high quality axes again. Key info Founded: 1902 Employees: 35 Headquarters: Gränsfors, Sweden Annual turnover: €4.5m Today, Gabriel’s sons, Adam and Daniel, have taken over the company. They have continued with the traditional methods of production, focusing on the essentials and the details. The axes are made from locally produced, high-quality steel, strong hickory wood and vegetable tanned leather.

As a sign of the craftmanship and know-how that goes into making the axes, the blacksmith carves his initials into the blade of the axe. With the guiding principles of know-how and expertise, producing the right axe for the right job and being environmentally friendly, this small Swedish company exports 80 % of its products and reaches over 30 countries around the world. How an EU-Australia Trade Agreement could help:

Easing export barriers

A trade deal aiming at easing non-tariff barriers would cut the costs non-tariffs barriers bring. For Gränsfors Bruk these currently include shipment fees and electronic entry fees for the harbour. This would enable them to sell their quality axes in Australia at a lower price, making them more competitive.

Opening up Australia's market

A trade agreement makes trade easier between the partners. Gränsfors Bruk hopes that increased interest in trade between EU and Australia will bring new customers and more opportunities.

Adam Brånby Co-owner, Gränsfors Bruk Sweden

"Our business has already seen the positive results from the EU’s trade deal with Canada last year. We look forward to similarly good results from a trade agreement with Australia.”

European Commission, DG Trade ec.europa.eu/trade @Trade_EU

Australia Exporters' Stories

LÍA Cultivators - from farmlands in Greece to shops in Australia

Awarded first place in several international olive oil competitions, LIÁ is an internationally recognised natural Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) from Filiatra, a picturesque town in Messenia, Greece.

Growing up on a family farm with 19 olive trees, Cristina Stribacu and her brother started a company that has a strong connection to the land and the olive oil they produce. Key info

Founded in: 2012 Headquarters: Filiatra, Greece Employees: 10 Annual turnover, 2017: €150,000 LIÀ Cultivators aims to produce its extra virgin olive oil in harmony with the land and its biodiversity, in order to respect the sustainability of the ecosystem. With the aim of creating a premium and entirely natural olive oil, LIÀ combines traditional methods of cultivation with modern techniques. The olives are harvested while still green and the EVOO is produced only through cold press methods. With 90 % of their sales being exported outside of Greece, LIÀ Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil can today be found in different parts of Europe, the USA and in Singapore.

Australia is a very interesting export destination for LIÁ. Even though the Australian market is in many ways similar to the European one, logistics still pose difficulties for the company. A trade agreement could open up the market so that LIÀ would be able to find importers for their product.

How an EU-Australia Free Trade

Agreement could help:

Making trade easier for SMEs

A free trade agreement would benefit small companies in particular, as regards information sharing arrangements and SME Contact Points, to make it easier to find the right networks to expand their business.

Simplifying export procedures

Negotiations for a trade agreement between the EU and Australia aim to make the trading environment more business-friendly and transparent, while increasing the coherence between customs authorities, easing the procedures for European exports to Australia.

Cristina Stribacu

Co-Founder of LÍA

“The biggest challenge that

a Greek company has when

entering a new market is

the lack of knowledge that

people in the food and

beverage industry have of

quality Greek products.

Australia is a new market

for us but I believe

Australian consumers will

soon start to appreciate

high quality Greek products

and that LIÁ can be highly

successful there."

European Commission, DG Trade ec.europa.eu/trade @Trade_EU

Australia Exporters' Stories

Sonnen Renewable energy on the horizon

The goal of this German company is to provide their customers with clean and affordable energy. With a solar panel system and Sonnen's smart energy storage, households can cover up to 80 per cent of their energy needs with self-produced power.

Key info: Founded in: 2010 Headquarters: Wildpoldsried, Bavaria, Germany Employees: 450 Annual turnover (2017): €65m Christoph Ostermann and Torsten Stiefenhofer founded Sonnen in 2010 with the vision of making households more independent in their energy consumption. And with the SonnenBatteri, a household can store its self-produced energy for when it is needed. Members of the SonnenCommunity can share their excess energy with each other. They can also sell their surplus energy to the public grid – making it possible for others to also make use of the renewable energy. The headquarters are located in Wildpoldsried, Bavaria, where Sonnen contributes to the village's fame as a renewable energy hub. But Sonnen is also present in cities such as Berlin, Bergamo, London, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Sydney.

How an EU-Australia Free Trade

Agreement could help:

Bringing down trade barriers

The negotiations for a trade agreement aim at cutting Australian tariffs on imports. For Sonnen that could mean a reduction in tariffs, which are currently at 5%.

Simplifying export procedures

The negotiations aim at making exporting easier with less paper work and at streamlining technical standards. This would cut prices and make companies like Sonnen more competitive on the Australian market.

Clean technology

By cutting the export costs, the trade agreement can make it easier for Australian consumers to choose an environmentally friendly source for their energy consumption.

Christoph Ostermann, Managing Director & CEO of Sonnen

"For Sonnen, Australia is the second most important market after Europe. Australia has remarkably good conditions for its own solar power production with storage. The two years that we’ve been operating in this very dynamic market have also shown us that the people of Australia want to become independent and produce their own clean energy. Finally, by becoming energy independent, they will save a lot of money as the investment will pay for itself very quickly."