Pictured above: Matthew Tucker

A local business leader is stepping up in his efforts to help one of Romania's largest cities to regenerate itself after visiting the country for a second time to forge relationships with the local construction community.

Matthew Tucker of Newark-based consulting engineers Morgan Tucker, recently returned from a week long visit to Timisoara, where he spent his time meeting with local architects, developers and business leaders to look at potential joint construction projects in Romania's second largest city.

This is the second time that Matthew has visited Timisoara this year. His first visit was as part of a delegation of construction professionals from Nottinghamshire which was invited out to offer expert advice on the regeneration of the city. The multi-million pound regeneration plan is part of a 20-year transformation project for Timisoara, which suffers a crumbling infrastructure and buildings. 

Matthew was invited on this latest visit by the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber, which again saw a number of local business leaders from the region visit both Timisoara and the neighbouring city of Szeged in Hungary. The purpose of the trip was for delegates to gain a better understanding of the local economy and to learn about the potential joint partnerships and work which may be available there, away from the recession-hit UK.

As well as joining up with the chamber on its mission, Matthew also took the opportunity to map out his own itinerary for the week. During the visit he met with a number of people who he met during the previous visit such as architects, local dignitaries and business people, as well as with a lecturer from the local university, to discuss upcoming joint projects.

Matthew says: "During the initial trade meeting in February, myself and the other delegates learnt a great deal about the plans for Timisoara and its regeneration and were given the opportunity to meet with a number of construction professionals in the city to discuss how we could help them to move their plans forward, and to discuss projects that we could work on together.

"The trip was a huge success, and on the back of that, I made contact with several people who I wanted to meet up with again to progress any potential plans. The chamber mission seemed the ideal time to do this, as it allowed me to maximise the opportunities available and get the most out of the trip. I have since met with the local university about inviting some Romanian students to take work placements at Morgan Tucker during the summer, I met with the main developer in the city to talk about a huge mixed-used scheme in the centre of Timisoara and also with several architects to discuss a number of different projects across the city.

"I think that the trip has been hugely beneficial to Morgan Tucker and we have now set the wheels in motion to get some of these projects started. I have worked with several other companies in Nottingham, who have also benefitted from the visit, and think that partnership working of this nature really is the way forward. Not only for helping us to gain new business, but also, in using our advice and expertise to help in the regeneration of Timisoara."

Nottingham's involvement in Timisoara's regeneration plans is the result of a relationship brokered by the British Ambassador to Romania, Robin Barnett, who visited Nottingham last year, to see how it had tackled problems which Timisoara is now battling with.

The latest chamber mission was a dual branded initiative between the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber and the Enterprise Europe Network. The mission was an extension of a partnership agreement between the Chamber and its sister organisation in Timisoara to promote economic opportunities and collaboration across the two areas. 

David Hood, head of international trade at the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber, said: "This visit is the culmination of a long-standing partnership agreement between Nottingham and Timisoara to develop the economic regeneration of both cities and follows a number of outward and inward trade delegations between the two. Romania's economic progress in recent years has made it one of the top countries for conducting export and import business and its strong economy and potential for further growth make it an area of particular interest for chamber members and the wider Nottingham business community.

"During the week we arranged for delegates to attend a number of events and seminars to give them a better understanding of the local economy. It is great that Matthew used the opportunity to make contact with people he previously made relationships with, and this is a good example of how the missions are a success and enabled him to maximise potential business opportunities."

Timisoara is a university city situated on the Northern bank of the Bega River. With a population of 312,400, it is the largest city in Western Romania and has been an important economic centre since the early 90s. Often referred to as 'Little Vienna' it boasts several public squares and lush green retreats.