EXPORTERS
7. TENTEC Nuts and bolts remain one of the most popular and effi cient
ways of joining engineering components. However, in critical applications like the petrochemical industry, traditional methods of bolt tightening are insuffi cient. Black Country-based Tentec (
tentec.net) manufactures a specialist hydraulic bolt tensioning system that tightens bolts to pre-determined industry specifi cations with precision accuracy. For divers working hundreds of feet below the ocean this is a major benefi t. Brazil’s vast oil reserves and exploration work represented a golden opportunity for export and business manager Paul Duckers. He used the Export Marketing Research Scheme. He says: “I made some invaluable contacts that I might otherwise have missed.”
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With challenging home markets some of the UK’s most entrepreneurial companies are seeking to broaden their horizons – and profi ts – overseas. David Parsley looks at a dazzling dozen
9. SHUTTLEWORTH BUSINESS SYSTEMS Shuttleworth Business Systems (
shuttleworth-uk.co.uk),
which provides software services for the printing industry, has invested £3m in research and development over the last six years to produce a sophisticated product that can meet the needs of every type of printing company in the world. The UK print market is mature so the appeal of India’s fast-emerging print market was clear. The fi rm commissioned an Export Marketing Research Scheme study, which revealed annual growth in India’s print market of 13 per cent, and a potential marketplace for its product of around fi ve per cent of India’s printing industry overall – equivalent to the entire UK printing industry, says the fi rm’s joint managing director, Andy King.
10. TACIT GOLF
Bespoke golf course equipment and greenkeeping tools maker Tacit Golf (
tacitgolf.co.uk) supplies virtually all of the UK’s premier courses. That means the company has to look overseas in general, and Spain in particular, to grow its business. Tacit Golf approached the Export Marketing Research Scheme for support in researching the Costa del Sol, home to the majority of Spain’s leading golf courses. Its research revealed Spanish clubs ran and procured on very different lines compared to the UK. “Without the support of the Export Marketing Research Scheme we wouldn’t have uncovered the vital differences in the way that British and Spanish clubs operate,” says director, Tim Webb.
11. CORNISH STAIRWAYS Cornish Stairways’ (
cornishstairways.com) sculptural
spiral staircases grace the homes of the rich and famous as well as the foyers of major banks and multinationals. However, despite a growing international reputation, exports only made up around 10 per cent of sales. Prompted by a number of lucrative, word-of-mouth Middle Eastern contracts, the fi rm developed an export strategy which revealed unexpected opportunity. Chairman Michael Jordan explains: “We found it was better in many cases to provide the design expertise and for the product to be made and fi tted in Dubai.”
8. PROTECTION RACKET Protection Racket (
protectionracket.co.uk), the UK’s number
one brand of drum and percussion cases, turned its attention to Japan following a website enquiry. The country represented a strong potential marketplace and so sales director Tommy Armstrong turned to the Export Marketing Research Scheme for advice. He spent seven days in Japan talking to retailers, musicians and distributors. The results were unexpected, as he explains: “It gave us a whole different feel for the market. Without doing the fi eld research, talking to people face-to-face, fi nding out exactly how the market works and what customers really want, I doubt we would ever have succeeded there.”
12. K2 MEDICAL SYSTEMS K2 Medical Systems (
k2ms.com) develops and manufactures
products to support clinicians in patient monitoring during childbirth. Its Fetal Monitoring Training System uses software to teach midwives and doctors the vital and complex task of foetal heart rate interpretation. It is used in 90 per cent of all UK maternity hospitals. Following a recommendation from a UK Trade & Investment International Trade Adviser, K2 Medical Systems approached the Export Marketing Research Scheme to study the Australasian market. Medical Systems’ sales director, Ian Crozier says: “It guided us in structuring our proposal and interpreting the information post-research.”
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