Extending the Fiobuoy's global reach

Extending the Fiobuoy's global reach Following on from its success in the global Defence market, Fiomarine is fast building an international distributor network poised to sell its unique Fiobuoy product around the world.

With agents now in the United Kingdom (UK), throughout Europe and Asia the Fiobuoy is beginning to receive the recognition it deserves as a reliable all-in-one underwater retrieval system.

To compete against existing well-known and well-established multi-nationals, Fiomarine is enlisting the help of dedicated agents around the world. During the last eighteen months the Company has signed agreements with representatives in:

• Finland - Polarsafety Oy (Polarsafety);
• Germany - Nautilus Marine Service GmbH (Nautilus Marine);
• India - Pan India Electromech PVT Ltd (Pan India);
• Japan - Nippon Kaiyo Co Ltd (Nippon Kaiyo);
• Korea - Oceantech Co (Oceantech);
• Saudi Arabia - Khusheim Company (Khusheim);
• Spain - Ocean Net Consulting & Environmental Systems (Ocean Net), and
• UK - RS Aqua Ltd (RS Aqua).

Fiobuoy in the UK
Well known and established UK manufacturer's representative RS Aqua was appointed by Fiomarine last year and has since been vigorously marketing Fiobuoys to the UK Oceanographic, Oil & Gas and Defence industries.

After hearing negative feedback from users about more traditional and popular recovery systems on the market, RS Aqua recognised the Fiobuoy as an exciting new alternative.

Roger Scrivens, RS Aqua Managing Director commented "in general rope canisters are a poor way of handling the rope connection. Amongst other things, they can experience spillage before release or entanglement after release. The spooled design of the Fiobuoy is a much more reliable way of dealing with the rope and the reaction to it from the market has invariably been positive."

RS Aqua have so far exhibited, presented and demonstrated the Fiobuoy at a number of conferences and tradeshows including the Marine Measurement Forum (MMF), Water, Wastewater and Environmental Monitoring (WWEM) Conference and Exhibition, and more recently the hugely successful Ocean Business 2009.

Ocean Business 2009, held from 31st March to 2nd April at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOCS), is one of the leading international Oceanographic shows in the UK with the emphasis largely on physical demonstrations. The show proved to be extremely successful for RS Aqua where the Fiobuoy proved to be the star of its booth. RS Aqua also demonstrated the Fiobuoy in a NOCS testing tank to a large and attentive crowd. The hugely popular and successful demonstration allowed attendees to witness first hand how the Fiobuoy's unique functionality and design supports reliable and simple underwater retrieval.

Even in the midst of the global economic downturn, interest in the Fiobuoy was high especially from the Defence sector where RS Aqua received enquiries from the French Ministry of Defence, specifically the Naval Hydrographic & Oceanographic Service (SHOM) and the UK's Ministry of Defence (MOD). A presentation to the MOD is now in the pipeline, as well as four other field demonstrations of the Fiobuoy.

Fiobuoy in Europe
The Fiobuoy is fast gathering momentum in Europe with the help of Spain agent Ocean Net, and newly appointed agents in Germany - Nautilus Marine, and in Finland - Polarsafety.

Ocean Net is a young company with a wealth of experience in the environmental and marine fields. A passion for new technologies and close relationships with key industry institutions and universities makes Ocean Net a perfect avenue for the Fiobuoy in Spain.

Since signing an agreement with Fiomarine, the Company has presented to the Military Emergency Unit of the Spanish Armed Forces, demonstrated the Fiobuoy to the Institut d'Ecologia Litoral (Institute of Coastal Ecology) and quoted Fiobuoys for the Centro Tecnológico del Mar (Marine Technological Centre).

Nautilus Marine also exhibited the Fiobuoy at the recent Oceans 09 IEEE Conference in Bremen, Germany where it received much attention. As a result of this interest, the Company is planning on demonstrating the Fiobuoy to the German Water Authority and the German Navy in coming months.

Fiobuoy in Asia
Fiomarine's relationship with the Japanese Self Defense Force has been developing over some years, with Fiobuoys currently being trialled by the Maritime Self Defense Force. To further develop this relationship and penetrate the wider marine market Fiomarine has enlisted the support of well established Japanese company Nippon Kaiyo.

The Company has demonstrated the Fiobuoy to the Tokyo University of Marine Science & Technology and has utilised the Fiobuoy in its own coastal monitoring work. Recently it began promoting the Fiobuoy in conjunction with measuring instruments, to offer a complete acoustic modem solution.

Long time agents Moonraker Australia Pty Ltd continue to promote the Fiobuoy in the Asian region, with quite a bit of interest captured this year at IMDEX Asia in Singapore from the 12th to 14th of May.

In other areas of the region, Khusheim is currently planning presentations within the lucrative Saudi Arabian Oil & Gas market and Ocean Tech will be exhibiting the Fiobuoy at the pre-eminent Korean show Kormarine Expo, International Shipbuilding & Marine Equipment Exhibition from the 21st to the 24th of October 2009.

Most recently, Fiomarine has signed an agreement with Pan India, part of the successful Pan India Group. Pan India service all areas of the marine industry including Oceanography, Oil & Gas, Port Construction and have an established relationship with India's Naval Hydrographic Department, which makes both company's confident the relationship will prove rewarding.

What makes the Fiobuoy different?
Unlike other underwater retrieval systems, the Fiobuoy is an 'all-in-one' system that integrates an acoustic release, marker, floatation and tether line. All these elements are fundamental to the Fiobuoy's design and functionality.

Traditionally the focus of popular recovery systems has been the acoustic release and pinger functions. Users were then forced to design, fit and test their own tether line component, which is not only timeconsuming, but the resulting system is often cumbersome and unreliable.

Slowly as the market has demanded it, some manufacturers have added a 'rope canister' to aid in retrieval. However, as noted by Scrivens, these can often experience entanglement and release failure.

The Fiobuoy is different because it is designed like a spool. This is exactly the way rope manufacturers store and supply their rope - because it is simple, practical and efficient. This design and the Fiobuoy's patented release mechanism make it a much more reliable, user-friendly and economical underwater recovery system.

Spreading the word
Coming from Australia's southern most state Tasmania, the Fiobuoy is building its market awareness outside of Defence. It is still relatively unknown around the world, and is the only one of its kind. Increasing its exposure by enlisting trustworthy and hands-on agents is vital for success.

Now, a priority for Fiomarine is to access the wider United States (US) marine industry and leverage off its success in the US Defence market. Both the US and Canadian Oceanographic markets are large and active and the Oil & Gas market in the south represents many opportunities for the Company. Signing up reliable and proactive agents for both these markets is the next step.

The Fiobuoy technology has been tried, tested and proven by the Defence industry as a reliable recovery alternative. The Company now needs to replicate this in the wider commercial marine market.

Competing against some of the largest marine equipment manufacturers in the world is a hard task, but Fiomarine is confident that with dedicated international agents like those listed above promoting the Fiobuoy, it's only a matter of time before increased orders start rolling in.

Visit us at: www.fiomarine.com

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