Empowering CLUSters management and services in TExtile and Machinery sectors

ended

The activity of clusters is vital for supporting international competitiveness of the European SMEs, through building of collaboration and sharing of added value. The CLUSTEM proposal will be based on the results of European Cluster Excellency Initiative (ECEI), which aims at the improvement of the policy in the field on cluster management; a better management and organisation can address some of the key factors affecting competitiveness in textile and machinery clusters in Europe. Within this project activities specifically addressed at industrial textile and machinery clusters will be performed. Project results will be shared with companies within the clusters and will give the possibility to design new services for textile and machinery SMEs. The specific objectives of the project are: reinforcement and improvement of the cluster management capacities of the partners, through benchmarking, training, study visits; establishment of a strategic collaboration between textile, especially advanced textile products, and machinery sectors, which is the main source of innovation for textile SMEs; transfer of knowledge and experiences developed in other clusters for the provision of high quality services to SMEs, increasing the level of innovation capacity and introducing new creative-based ideas for the realisation of new products, facilitating internationalization of SMEs, better exploiting and diffusing Key Enabling Technologies, assisting SMEs in further addressing resource efficiency issues. This set of goals will be achieved through the implementation of the following actions: benchmarking consultancy from ESCA experts, with the final aim of getting at least the first level of labelling for the 4 clusters; training with European experts in ECEI curriculum for at least the 5 core modules; study visits to 3 gold labelled clusters in other European countries; design of new top quality services for SMEs of the 4 clusters and dissemination of project activities.