Queen’s Award winners asked to be trade champions
THE passion, experience and expertise shown by winners of the Queen’s Awards for Export is to be harnessed by UK Trade and Investment.
Clive Drinkwater, North West Director at UKTI – the government body responsible for promoting international trade – hosted an event for North West winners today to congratulate them and ask them to help encourage other businesses to export.
The majority, 17 of the 20 North West winners of the 2012 Queen’s Award for International Trade were attending the lunch event in Knutsford to hear about how they can help UKTI North West encourage 1,000 new companies onto the export ladder this year, by becoming regional champions.
The Queen’s Awards are highly prestigious and in order to win one, businesses must be able to demonstrate substantial growth in overseas earnings and commercial success over a three year period.
Companies attending the event include Vimto-maker Nichols Oliver Valvetek from Knutsford, and outdoor clothing firm Regatta.
Another attendee, was Macclesfield-based Fibrevision, which has exported almost 100% of its production since it was formed, has recently targeted the Asian economies and BRIC markets as the textile industry has developed.
Managing director Malcolm Hinchcliffe has agreed to be a champion for exporting, and offer advice to new and inexperienced exporters.
He said “Success in exports comes from the same key factors as success in a home market – market knowledge and delivering the right product at the right price with excellent support and service.
“In our case as a small company dealing in the B2B sector, market knowledge is developed by building up a good network of local representatives. Firms need to establish good contacts in each market to develop a deep understanding of what customers really require.”
Safety shower maker JD Hughes Group has also agreed to help other firms join enter international markets.
Export sales manager Paul Darlington said: “We are delighted to pass on our experience and knowledge to other North West businesses. I would say to do your research, and that there is lots of help and support for new exporters.”
Clive Drinkwater, director of UKTI North West, said, “The fact that we have so many winners from the North West shows what fantastic companies we have in the region, which continues to be the country’s biggest exporter outside of London and the South East.
“The North West’s prosperity over the coming years will not stem from domestic markets alone, and we want to ensure that the region’s firms are not just trading abroad, but thriving there and following the example of the Queen’s Award winners here today.
“I see these businesses as champions for international trade, and an inspiration for fledgling companies, and we are calling on them today to help us achieve our export ambitions for the region.”
