Conex Universal held up as benchmark to exporters

A BLACK Country firm has been held up by a Government body as an example to SMEs in the West Midlands looking to boost their export success.

Plumbing fittings company Conex Universal Ltd of Tipton, part of the multi-national IBP Group, received an order for £1.5m from Australia after taking part in UK Trade & Investment’s Overseas Market Introduction Service.

The company commissioned an OMIS report which provided information on relevant global markets and how best to capitalise on them.

Another firm to benefit is Global Flood Defence Systems (GFDS) of Droitwich. The firm, which manufactures a range of flood defence systems – commissioned OMIS reports into opportunities in Australia and Southern Ireland. The company also took part in UKTI’s Passport to Export programme for new exporters and undertook an Export Communication Review which led to the company employing a full time marketing manager. The company is now enjoying meteoric success in global markets.

UKTI said it was hopeful other firms would be willing to follow the example set by Conex and GFDS.

The move comes as UKTI has announced an additional £9m of Government funding is being released to help SMEs boost their exports.

UKTI said it hoped around 10,000 firms could be the beneficiaries of the cash.

The additional funding means there will be more money available for SMEs to attend trade shows overseas through expanding the Tradeshow Access Programme.

Also, substantial discounts will be offered on the OMIS, which provides targeted market research to help businesses find those crucial first contacts and to encourage them to develop relationships in new, fast-growing markets.

There will also be increased support available for travel on overseas trade missions.

In addition to the £9m, a further £2.5m will be invested in helping firms access and win some of the many high-value opportunities that UKTI has identified globally.

A further £1.5m will be used for projects including support for UKTI’s work attracting vital inward investment into our economy.

The announcement comes as UKTI prepares to host ‘Export Week’ from November 12-16, when there will be over 100 events up and down the UK designed to reach out to SMEs.  

There will also be five ‘Explore Export’ events where UKTI experts from 70 overseas markets will be on hand to provide bespoke advice about trading both with traditional partners and with high-growth markets.

Deputy Regional Director for UKTI West Midlands, Christine Hamilton said: “We welcome this extra funding which will give more West Midlands SMEs the chance to find and develop new customers and partners overseas.

“Exporting is crucial for firms to sustain their business and grow which is why we urge all West Midlands SMEs to take advantage of the support and opportunities on offer.”

Business Secretary Vince Cable said one of the Government’s main ambitions was to grow UK exports.

“SMEs are crucial to this challenge – over half of the monetary value of the UK’s exports comes from SMEs,” he said.  

“SMEs are innovators in every sector, whether hi-tech or traditional, and they are major job creators for our economy employing almost 60 per cent of the private sector workforce. This extra funding will help those businesses already exporting to go further and explore new markets, and help those thinking of exporting to make that crucial first step.

“We anticipate that over 10,000 businesses will benefit from the additional funding, moving us closer to our ambition of getting 100,000 more businesses exporting British goods and services around the world.”