Overseas opportunities for success story Ellis
INTERNATIONAL exporter Ellis has pledged to remain an independent manufacturing company and is looking to win orders to supply new overseas markets.
Managing director Richard Shaw told TheBusinessDesk.com that despite the continued downturn in Europe the Yorkshire business saw opportunities.
The business, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is a leader in the manufacture of cable cleats.
The cleats are used to hold electrical cables in place and are an essential safety product, especially in instances when a short circuit generates massive forces that can make live cables burst frr from their restraints.
Ellis, based in Rillington, North Yorkshire, is looking to add to recent contracts which include work to help build one of Qatar’s new cities, a major order to supply equipment to a new power station in Wales and the installation of the company’s Emperor cable cleats on two oil platforms off the coast of Brazil.
Mr Shaw said: “We are a fiercely independent manufacturing business and we want to remain so. The fun for me in running a business is that we’re independent.
“The business is a very interesting one to run. We look after employees really well and staff loyalty is really strong.
“The biggest cause for leaving is retirement. We’ve got a lady in the packaging team who is 70.”
Mr Shaw admitted that Ellis had seen a drop in turnover in its 2010 financial year (£4.6m down from £5.4m the previous year) but the figure had increased again in 2011 to more than £5m.
“We undertook a rebrand during our ‘recession year’. One thing you do get when things are slower is time. Although we are healthily profitable we did rebrand and it’s gone down really well.”
Commenting on future opportunities for Ellis and the general economic outlook Mr Shaw, who joined the company 11 years ago, said: “Exporting is absolutely key for the future of the UK. We have a great history of exporting.
“The main British Empire countries like doing business with us. The British do export really well.”
However, Mr Shaw said the Government could do more to help UK manufacturers succeed and argued that the free market economy in the UK could actually be a detriment to Yorkshire companies.
He said Ellis was looking at breaking into new international markets but was not considering moving into China. It is also recruiting new staff to add to its North Yorkshire team of 53, including a mechanical engineer through an innovative tie-up with Hull University.
“There’s no real recession to exporting,” he added. “If you establish there’s demand for your product in that country you can set up a chain.”
He said Australia was a growth market for Ellis, which currently has tie-ups with 17 distributors in 17 countries, at present but he was reluctant to name targeted countries because of competition.
Mr Shaw concluded: “We’re going to see more exporting over the next 12 to 24 months. And the way we steer ourselves through that is by growing the business through product development and through sales activity through exports.”
