As the first industry event in 2017 was a complete success, the BMU supported the creation of six further country profiles for recycling and water management and to have them presented as part of the export initiative for environmental technologies at an industry event at the BMU in 2018. The six countries selected for 2018 were Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Vietnam and Montenegro. The aim of the event is to support internationalisation in the field of water and wastewater management. This means that medium-sized companies should be provided with the basic conditions to successfully expand their export activities. The respective country profiles, which are freely available for download at www.germanwaterpartnership.de/de/informationen/publikationen/index.htm, were each the subject of a presentation. Experts with regional knowledge participated in the ensuing panel discussion and were asked about their experiences and market assessments.

Barthauer Software GmbH is the leading producer of software for infrastructure management and water management. The company's main product is the database-driven BaSYS infrastructure management system for the specialist areas of sewers, water, gas, roads and cables. The Braunschweig-based company has been investing in the regions of Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia for several years now. In 2015, BARTHAUER won the support of the develoPPP programme of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro with the project “Data management for water companies to improve efficiency in operations and administration”. The BMZ uses develoPPP.de to promote companies that invest in developing and emerging markets and in so doing make their entrepreneurial commitment sustainable. Several pilot customers, among others in Montenegro, have since been successfully acquired. Participation in the panel discussion offered Malte Martin, who was in charge of the project on the part of BARTHAUER right from the beginning, a good opportunity to enrich the podium discussion with the professional and technical experiences gained in Montenegro and the region. “We are delighted that we have been able to actively support this relatively young industry event with our international expertise and to pass on our experience from the region,” summarises Malte Martin in retrospect.