{"id":35227,"date":"2026-03-31T16:38:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T13:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clusters.org.ua\/?p=35227"},"modified":"2026-03-31T16:38:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T13:38:38","slug":"company-visit-best-practice-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clusters.org.ua\/en\/news-en\/company-visit-best-practice-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian Thermal Energy Cluster. Company Visit (Regular Site Visits to Member Facilities)"},"content":{"rendered":"

How can members of a young cluster be encouraged to trust each other enough to share specialists and orders? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The secret of the Ukrainian Thermal Energy Cluster is highly practical: take off the ties and go to the shop floor. Their \u201cCompany Visit\u201d practice has transformed ordinary factory tours into a powerful B2B matchmaking tool. Discover how structured production visits turn into real contracts \u2014 and why an honest conversation by the assembly line works better than any formal meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cA live visit to a production site provides more than any presentation \u2014 you immediately understand who you can work with and how to scale cooperation,\u201d<\/em> \u2014 Tetiana Toropova, CEO of Mario<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Practice Passport<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Practice Title<\/strong><\/td>Company Visit (Regular Visits to Member Production Facilities)<\/td><\/tr>
Cluster \/ Source Organization<\/strong><\/td>Ukrainian Thermal Energy Cluster<\/td><\/tr>
Region<\/strong><\/td>Kyiv<\/td><\/tr>
Implementation Period<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Ongoing (since 2023)<\/td><\/tr>
Cluster Maturity Level<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Formalized cluster in an early stage of maturity<\/td><\/tr>
Number of Participants<\/strong><\/td>27<\/td><\/tr>
Thematic Areas<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Networking, Matchmaking (B2B, Cluster2Cluster), Cluster Communications & PR<\/td><\/tr>
Target Audience<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Young manufacturing clusters seeking to overcome fear of competition<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Context and Problem Addressed by the Practice<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Established in 2023, the Ukrainian Thermal Energy Cluster faced a typical challenge of \u201cyoung associations\u201d: a lack of horizontal trust. Entrepreneurs knew each other only through business cards or websites. As a result, no one had a clear understanding of partners\u2019 real capacities, available machinery, or unique technological capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was not working? Standard online meetings and formal board sessions remained superficial. Companies were reluctant to open their processes to potential \u201ccompetitor-spies.\u201d The absence of systematic in-person interaction hindered the creation of joint projects and internal value chains. Participants continued to look for contractors externally, despite having the necessary resources within the cluster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Description of the Practice Mechanism (\u201cWhat\u2019s Under the Hood\u201d)<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The practice takes place regularly (once a month) and follows a structured format that transforms a factory visit into a business session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key elements of the cycle:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n