David Wall I MD Interview


"We're looking to change that over the next five years," Wall says. "I'd like to see that balance reversed." France is an increasingly important market for Kemtron. "While we're seeing a relative downturn at the moment in the French market, that has not been as significant as that which we saw in the UK. Our share of the market is small in France so the impact has been muted." Talk of overseas markets and exports raises an interesting point. "When you supply products abroad, especially if you are supplying materials that could have a military use, you will be required to get an export licence. I don't have an issue with the need for a licence but the problem for a company like ours is that we are often dealing with quotes worth just a few hundred pounds. If you then have to get a licence that can cost you money and time and we have lost business as a result.


"Like I said I understand why


Government wants to control exports of defence equipment but I believe there needs to be a better understanding of the problems those kinds of regulations can have on smaller businesses like ours. For example, we lost work to Laird after we were required to supply an end user statement."


I ask him whether he feels


Government understands the kinds of problems he's just described. "Ministers come and go and they do


the rounds. I mentioned this problem when a minister recently visited businesses in Essex. I explained the problems in obtaining licences and how it could vary from product type to product type. He told me to write to him. So I did! "


And? "Nothing!"


Disappointing but not surprising. "Controls are important but I do think


more responsibility could be placed on companies themselves. I think for a company like us most politicians, bankers and officials don't really understand what we do and they don't seem to have any interest in making life easier. "Government talks about the 'march of the makers' and wants exports to top £1trn by 2020, so why make a company like ours apply for multiple licences on the advice of their compliance officers only then to be turned down after 18 months. It's frustrating. "These rules are certainly too stringent and legislation needs to be amended. It's far too complex for products that are certainly benign and in our case are only worth a few hundred pounds."


Export drive Exports are at the heart of the company's five year plan and it's not surprising that excessive regulation is a concern. "Exports will be the key driver of


growth over the coming years – they're essential to the health and financial strength of the business. In France our operation is profitable and has been a great success. We want to do something similar in Germany and in selected markets across Europe. "We need to find good distributors.


Too often we supply companies who want to badge our products under their own name- we're seen as being too small."


www.cieonline.co.uk Kemtron.


Germany is certainly a prime target for "It's the biggest industrial market in


Europe and it has a dynamic aerospace and defence sector and I'd like us to have a stake in it. We are having various discussions at the moment and we are working hard to raise our profile and get better name recognition." Kemtron has used the Government's Passport to Export Service which is organised by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI). An export assessment and support programme for small and medium sized businesses it provides training, planning and support for companies looking to expand overseas. "People from the UKTI came in to the business and provided a detailed assessment of our readiness to export; they helped with an action plan; provided market research and offered guidance and advice. They looked at the business, at our communications and told us what they thought was holding us back. As with most UK businesses poor language skills were a problem, so we recruited a native French speaker who could not only speak the language but understand the cultural issues that we'd need to navigate if we wanted to grow the business. "You need to have the right infrastructure in place." Talking of exports what about China? "The Chinese market is enormous and very diverse. We do have a distributor there but price is the main stumbling block, we're too expensive and that is holding us back. It's a market we need to understand and develop but it's slow. I've paid a number of visits but it is difficult to meet the right people and customers, especially those in defence." With opportunities across Europe and


a growing presence in markets like China and India where does he see the business at the end of the next five years? "I'd like to see us with exports accounting for 70-80% of our turnover and with a successful and growing operation in France. I'm keen to develop production facility in France and I'd like to have a fully operational base in Germany. Italy and Spain are also of interest. "We've invested heavily in the business. We've spent a lot of money on new equipment and have developed a significant in-house re-tooling capability. As a result we can manage lead times in re-tooling more effectively. We've introduced new extrusion lines, invested in upgrading our knitting machines and developed a range of bespoke machines ourselves."


Audited by their customers the feedback has been positive.


"Our customers come in and audit us and have been pleased with the investment we've been making. Our internal processes are accredited to ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:2007and we're looking at investing further next year. "My only worry looking forward is the UK's possible withdrawal from Europe. I'm a Europhile and while I agree that Europe certainly needs to be reformed I would be disappointed if we decided to pull out. It would certainly affect our business going forward. Talk to most business people and those who export tend to be pro-Europe." Whether in or out of Europe the next five years certainly look interesting. ■


Components in Electronics October 2014 15


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