INTERNATIONAL TRADE
INTERNATIONAL TRADE Chamber involved in
HELPING COMPANIES EXPLOIT OVERSEAS TRADE OPPORTUNITIES T: 0121 450 4205 • E:
ukti@birmingham-chamber.com
India day at IFB 2014
The Chamber’s partners for the India event include the Confederation of Indian Industry, UK India Business Council and UK Trade and Investment. Jonathan Webber, who heads the Chamber’s
international team, said: “Nationally, we export less to India than we should do, and the West Midlands is included in that. “Our event will offer UK SMEs the opportunity
to talk to a number of export sources, including a direct link to Bangalore, where the UK IBC will be opening a new office for UK exporters.
‘A festival like this has never been held before. IFB 2014 isn’t a talking shop’
“We’re urging firms to do more – Birmingham T
he Chamber’s international team has been asked to play a key role in the biggest trade exhibition to be staged
in the UK since the Festival of Britain in 1951. The exhibition is the International Festival for
Business (IFB), which will last for 50-days during June and July and will take place in Liverpool The IFB will bring together business delegates
and trade intermediaries from around the world and will feature more than 150 business-focused events of all shapes and sizes, based on the seven themes of: cities, enterprise and urban business; creative and digital industries; financial and professional services; higher/further education and research; low carbon and renewables;
manufacturing, science and technology and maritime, logistics and energy. A spokesman for the festival said: “IFB 2014 is
very ambitious. It is a key part of the government's target of rebalancing the economy and achieving its export and investment objectives. A festival like this has never been held before. IFB 2014 isn’t a talking shop. We are placing an explicit focus on creating new international and domestic business- to-business relationships and commercial openings for small, medium and large UK companies.” As part of the festival, the Chamber is joining
forces with a number of partners to organise a day devoted to India, the world’s second most populous country and one of its fastest growing economies.
is working closely with partners across the country to support a UK export drive. “India is a big place – there are 26 states, each with its own rules and regulations and a fairly demanding bureaucracy. It is not a market that you open up overnight. That said, it is an emerging market. It is growing, getting richer and more sophisticated and one we have got to crack.” As part of IFB, the Chamber is also organising
a two-day aid funded business conference, which will bring together the commercial officers from around a dozen countries, who will sit down with delegates to discuss opportunities open to them. This year, the conference will focus on the subject of water and sanitation in developing countries, which will be the pre-cursor to an aid funded trade visit to East Africa in early October. Speakers for the conference are yet to be
confirmed, but it is hoped to include some of the aid agencies working on water, sanitation and clean energy projects.
Solihull firm sets laser sights on China
A small but highly specialised Solihull company which relies on the export market is hoping to make inroads into China. Arden Photonics makes test equipment and
components for the optical fibre and laser industries, and was founded in 2001. Founder and managing director David
Robinson had worked in international business at previous companies and said: “We identified that to grow the business we needed to sell in overseas markets. The UK market simply wasn’t big enough for our product.” With help from UK Trade and Investment
(UKTI), Arden was able to introduce its products to the all-important US market, and during the past nine years its exports have gone from strength to strength. US sales now add up to £300,000 per annum. Establishing a name in the US helped the
company to reach European markets, and overseas trade now accounts for 80 per cent of the company’s turnover. Arden’s focus has now turned to the Far
20 CHAMBERLINK MAY 2014
East, where a recent market visit to China has led to the company appointing a local distributor, attending trade shows and client meetings. As well as China, Arden is also set to target India, one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Arden will continue to be assisted by an
international trade adviser Mark Sankey, who MR Robinson calls “very supportive, pointing us in the direction of meetings and events where we can learn about new territories”. Mark said: “I have been working with Arden
Photonics over the past seven years as their dedicated international trade adviser, helping
them to grow their export business. “In recent times I have supported them
through UKTI’s ‘Gateway to Global Growth’ programme for businesses an existing export base who are looking to diversify into new and more challenging international markets. “I provided guidance on an export action plan tailored to Arden Photonics’ need which included helping David to access funding to participate in trade exhibitions in the USA and to plan and carry out a research based visit to China, to meet potential distributors and customers and better understand how the market in China operates. “Arden have also benefited from attending
UKTI run seminar and training courses to build the skills base of the company to equip them for exporting. “I look forward to continuing to work with
David as the business expands in new and exciting markets such as China and India. He has embraced the opportunities that exporting can offer and with support from UKTI is starting to reap the rewards it can offer.”
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