UKTI boss seeks another 1,000 firms for export
THE cream of the region’s international businesses have pledged support for UK Trade & Investment’s challenge to find 1,000 new North West exporters.
Many of the North West winners of the Queen’s Award for International Trade 2013 attended a lunch in Cheshire hosted by UKTI, where they were asked to motivate more local businesses to follow in their footsteps.
Companies from across the region attended were represented at the event, including Greater Manchester companies I Love Cosmetics, Metalube, Isoprime, Projection Lighting and Tenmat, and Totalpost Services and Triveritas from Cumbria.
Clive Drinkwater, director of UKTI North West, said, “As I have said on many occasions now, winning business overseas is vital for our future growth so, on behalf of UKTI North West, I have once again set a challenge of helping 1,000 new companies to export in 2013.
” The achievement of the companies who have won the Queen’s Award for International Trade is a tremendous example for these businesses to follow.”
Speaking about his challenge to find another 1,000 new exporters this year, Mr Drinkwater added: “In May we had High Growth Markets week, which was a great success in the North West. I attended 15 events and met over 1,000 people, and was impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment to exporting that the region’s businesses showed.
“However, if we are to grow our economy it is vital that we treat every week as an Export Week. The North West is the third biggest exporting region in the UK after London and the South East and, as such, plays a vital role to the economy.
“Our firms have the skills and knowledge to compete on an international stage and we need to make sure that they are doing just that. I believe there are many businesses in the region that are ready to sell offshore but who just need some help and guidance before taking the plunge, and UKTI are here to help them do just that.”
