Consortium facts for kids
A consortium is like a special team-up between two or more independent companies, people, or groups. They work together for a certain amount of time, usually to achieve a big goal. Think of it like a group project, but for businesses!
Consortia are very common in the building world. For example, when a huge bridge or a new road needs to be built, often several construction companies will form a consortium. This way, they can share the work and the risks.
How Consortia Work
There are generally two main ways consortia are formed:
- Companies doing the same thing: Sometimes, several companies that do similar work team up for a project. This often happens when a project is too big or too risky for just one company to handle alone. By forming a consortium, these companies (which are not owned by the same parent company) can take on the large project together.
- Companies doing different things: In other cases, companies with different skills come together for a project. Each company focuses on its own part of the job. They are only responsible for the risks related to the work they do.
The word "consortium" comes from the 16th century. It comes from the Latin words con sortes, which means "united by fate." The English word "consort" (meaning a partner or companion) has a similar origin.
Famous Examples of Consortia
A great example of a consortium that grew into something huge is Airbus. This company, famous for building airplanes, started as a consortium of different companies. Their goal was to build large aircraft together.
In 1970, the companies officially formed a "groupement d'intérêt économique," which is a type of consortium under French law. Today, Airbus is a large company called a Societas Europaea, which is a type of shareholding company under European law.
Not all consortia are formed to make money. The Unicode consortium is a good example. This group is a non-profit organization based in California. Its main goal is to promote the Unicode standard, which helps computers and devices understand and display text from all languages around the world.
Images for kids
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Contract signed with the AdOptica consortium in Italy - ADS International and Microgate, partnered with Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica - for design and construction of the largest adaptive mirror unit in the world.
See also
In Spanish: Consorcio para niños
