MD Interview I David Wall
Looking beyond the domestic market
Neil Tyler talks to David Wall, the Managing Director of Kemtron, about the company's plans for the next five years at the heart of which is a drive to increase exports
B
ased in Braintree in Essex Kemtron has been a leading player in the environmental sealing sector for over thirty years. Operating out of a fully equipped manufacturing and warehouse facility the company works with customers in more than 35 countries around the world and it is able to provide those customers with the flexibility to produce short-run bespoke solutions as well as standard products in volume. Kemtron has its own in-house design, development, engineering and manufacturing capabilities which means that it can maintain full control over the entire production process guaranteeing both quality and reliability. According to the company's managing
director, David Wall, "We have been able to develop a business with a global reach that combines strong technical experience and expertise with a growing network of fully-qualified agents and distributors. Companies come to us when they want someone to design and manufacture innovative EMI shielding solutions. "We have an extensive knowledge of materials, industry applications and a deep understanding of the environmental issues that companies are having to contend with at present, and that means we are able to take a more creative, problem solving approach, if you like, to the issue of EMC shielding. As a result, our customers treat us as long-term strategic partners and we work closely with them to develop new market- leading products."
Independent and financially stable
Kemtron is looking to the future and is working to a five year strategic plan. However the current market, in particular in the UK which is currently the company's most important market, is tough according to Wall.
"The UK is and has been essentially flat for most of this year. We've been hit by
14 October 2014
the downturn in the defence market. The political decision to pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq and the retrenchment we saw in defence spending after 2010 has had an impact. All you have to do is talk to competitors and customers alike and most have seen the operational work that grew significantly on the back of military operations in the Middle East falling away.
"But if you look at the current political situation in Syria or Iraq, the rise of Isis or the tension with Russia over the situation in Ukraine, then I think there will be increased investment in what I call homeland security. "While there have been operational cuts in defence there has been continual investment in new equipment – we have kit on board the new carriers under construction, HMS Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales, and I'm confident that defence spending will begin to increase over the coming years." While defence is a significant market for the company it also operates across a range of other industries – from high end electronics and aerospace to railway infrastructure.
"In terms of railway infrastructure
we're seeing significant growth," Wall suggests. "With a number of major rail projects underway in the UK and with further projects under consideration for the future it's a market with plenty of opportunities."
Realignment Ten to fifteen years ago around 75 per cent of the company's business was in telecoms but with the demise of the industry in the UK and the decision by many of the big players such as Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola to set up shop in the Far East, the company made a strategic decision to refocus on smaller,
Components in Electronics David Wall
niche markets where the margins were considerably higher. "We've been through a strategic re- alignment before. Whether it was the shift from telecoms or looking to adapt in a changing market today we're flexible and nimble enough to identify and exploit new market opportunities. While defence may be struggling we are now looking at new areas. In aerospace there are huge backlogs and I believe business is going to
ramp up considerably."
At the heart of the company's five year strategy is, according to Wall, a focus on exports and the intention is to grow the company's presence overseas. "We've no presence in Germany but we do have agents and representatives in France and Sweden." At present 70 percent of the company's business is in the UK, exports account for the remaining 30 per cent.
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