Britax targets new world markets

ONE of Bridlington’s biggest employers Britax is targeting new world markets as it celebrates its golden jubilee.

The commercial vehicle safety products company based on the Bessingby Industrial Estate said its future looks “bright” as it focuses on opening up new markets in Russia and the Middle East, particularly in the United Arab Emirates.

Marketing manager, David Timms, said: “The 2008 recession hit us hard but as quickly as we went into it, we came out of it. There has been a very strong recovery in the markets we operate in and I would say we are as strong now as we have ever been.

“The future looks very bright and we continue to push for new and developing markets overseas.

“We export strongly to the USA, Scandanavia and eastern Europe as well as the Far East and have offices in India and China.

“Russia is a massive market and the demand for agricultural machinery is huge, with so much land under cultivation. We have sales teams going out to these places and what we find is the British reputation for quality and reliability counts in our favour.”

Britax, which employees a team of 220, manufactures amber hazard warning beacons and light bars for emergency vehicles and the makes auxiliary and mandatory vehicle and lighting mirrors for all types of construction and off-highway vehicles. It has an annual turnover of £30m, almost half of which represents exports.

Production processes at the firm are being modernised on an ongoing basis and there has been significant investment in the Bessingby site in recent years.

East Yorkshire MP Greg Knight will officially open the Britax 50th anniversary celebrations at Bridlington Golf Club on September 14.

Managing director Mike Rayner said: “Our long association with the town has seen many challenges as world business patterns and customer expectations change, but we continue to grow and develop through new products and facilities as well as the skills and experience of our workforce.

“As with every business, I am sure the coming years will continue to present many challenges, however I am confident in the knowledge that the team at Britax PMG have the capability of successfully meeting these challenges and that we will remain an integral part of local Bridlington life.”

The company can trace its history to 1946, when it began production on a kitchen table at a house in Yeadon, Leeds.

Yorkshire metallurgist Philip Metcalfe Godfrey Thorpe was the founder, and PMG Thorpe, as it was known then, began producing wiring and electrical equipment for a growing automotive market in the immediate post-war years.

As the company expanded land was developed around Mr Thorpe’s home until, in 1963, there was nowhere else to build, so it took up an empty factory in the East Yorkshire town.

Three years later, Britax, the car safety equipment manufacturers, took the company over and now trading as Britax PMG, it went from strength to strength.