European experience

Experience, competition, communication and teamwork are probably the four most important pillars upon which our daily lives rest.

Experience fills us with knowledge, skill and practice, to guide us through whatever is yet to come. Competition helps keep us focused on our everyday goals and, if indulged in moderation, helps us not only to improve, but also to admire the achievements of others.

Communication is reaching out to others, an exercise in mutual understanding, which may result in tolerance or even bonding. Teamwork is the very essence of co-operation that mutates differences, turning them into advantages. Understanding how each of these factors can be turned to one's advantage is what the HSBC Young Enterprise Company Programme is all about.

Sixteen- and 17-year-old entrepreneurs are taken through a corporate life-cycle lasting nine months, where the object pursued is that of stimulating an entrepreneurial culture, while experiencing the importance and demands of today's financial and economic world, within each individual company niche. This is achieved through enriching experiences, such as participating in the JA-YE European Fair.

On March 20, four teams - Chrysalis, Hemoglobin, Networks and Touch Wood - represented Malta in Lugano and Mendrisio, Switzerland, by participating in the four-day JA-YE European Trade Fair, organised by Young Enter-prise's Swiss counterpart. The International Fair, as usual, culminated in the prize-giving ceremony, during which the teams achieving the highest standards of thoroughness and diligence were awarded certificates and trophies.

Chrysalis is a Young Enterprise company representing the Junior College which started last November as one of the 19 teams participating in the HSBC Company Programme. In spite of its short existence, it has already gained a modest degree of success, especially at the JA-YE Fair.

The competitive weekend started off with the official opening, during which 67 flag bearers, representing their companies from 28 participating countries, together with their teams were introduced to the activity.

The president of the Swiss delegation, Filippo Lombardi, MP, and Giorgio Giudici, Mayor of Lugano, welcomed the participants to the impressively beautiful location in the canton Ticino. The evening culminated in a buffet dinner, followed by a disco.

On Friday the teams were taken on a business and industrial tour of Mendrisio, to an aircraft construction yard, a pharmaceutical laboratory, and a printing press. During these visits, the emphasis was on various aspects of production with loads of importance given to quality.

The teams were taken to the Titanic for a disco party and dinner, but the exhausted participants were more interested in getting back to their beds, and to prepare for the rigid days' work ahead.

On Saturday, the teams were transported together with their stands, packaging and items to Fox Town Shopping Mall, where they were given an hour to set up their stands and commence sales. This was the moment they had so passionately waited for.

Chrysalis designed its stand to reflect the company image it aimed to portray, an image based on high marketing ideals, and absolute quality. Beautiful, blown up pictures of the product which the company was selling were used as backdrops. The rest of the stand was a showcase of products, food, packaging methods and director files.

Since they were representing Malta, a book about the Maltese Islands was displayed prominently on the stand and was referred to pretty often especially when people sought information about Malta.

As first, sales were rather slow. However, things changed at around noon when people flocked to the stands of every participating team, boosting sales. Both judges and clients who gathered around the Chrysalis stand were impressed by the quality of the product, and the amount of care and attention taken in its design and production.

The Chrysalis product, named Around is a "Lazy Susan", consisting of an array of pottery dishes in a wicker basket, placed on a rotating pine base in various shades. The base is supported by a zinc-coated bearing system, which ensures rust-proofing during the life-span of the device, and which can withstand a weight of 50 kg. The zenith level also has centrifugal stoppers that prevent the ceramics resting on top of it from falling off during rotation.

The product undergoes intensive quality and process checks, from the raw material stage up to the final assembly of the complete item. During the fair, a tidy profit was also made, and the success of the marketing strategy employed during the fair was hence demonstrated... but that was not all.

After the dismantling session, the teams attended the closing ceremony, where they were awarded trophies for Best Product, Best Sales and Marketing Techniques, Best Trade Fair Display Stand and Corporate Image and the Best Overall Company.

Chrysalis received the Best Trade Fair Display Stand and Corporate Image trophy, while the other awards were given to teams from Holland, Sweden and Germany. Thus Chrysalis was successful in projecting the sort of image it desired. The trophy and certificate that are now placed in the company' showcase are a reminder to all the team members that hard work in the end gets rewarded.

The Chrysalis team wishes to thank all members who put in brain and brawn in order to make all this possible, including their company advisers, Keith Muscat, Patrick Spiteri and Alison Barthet, and link teacher Elaine Camilleri who gave their constant support and help.

Chrysalis wishes to congratulate the other Maltese participating teams for their impressive sales performance, and for the effectiveness of their stands.

Finally, Chrysalis would like to thank Young Enterprise Malta, especially Claire Bugeja, Michael Cutugno, and Alberto Ebejer, who accompanied all the teams to this event as well as main sponsor HSBC Bank Malta plc and Corporate Sponsors Air Malta plc, Mediterranean Conference Centre and Maltacom plc, for the wonderful experience which has proved to be, in fact, a learning by doing lesson for life.