Information and skills are the keys to export success, say bosses

At a round table event organised by manufacturing organisation Made in the Midlands the company bosses, from Birmingham and the Black Country, quizzed bankers and export advisers alike.

Deryk Law, chief executive of Oldbury-based steel processing group Clayton, described himself as almost a 'reluctant exporter', the result of growing inquiries from around the world for his company's services.

But he said he feared exports could be held back by the UK's chronic skills shortage and spoke of the difficulty of attracting 'the right people'.

"There's no point in being pro-active about exports if you can't produce enough goods," he warned. But Clayton's experience of overseas demand was clearly a good one: "There's a of money to be made.

"Customers in the Far East like British technology and skills. They can buy cheaper from the Chinese but the like the innovation the UK provides."

Mike Dell, a director of Dark Sheet Metal in Bilston, said his company often carried out its own research into markets abroad rather than rely on the Government export agency UK Trade & Investment.

"A customer abroad is just a customer," he said. "You treat them the same way as you would a customer in the UK, and that means meeting face to face, getting to know each other.

"You need to visit them as many times as you would visit a UK customer."

Mr Dell said his group - which produces foam and rubber parts for the automotive industry as well as steel fabrications and falsework and formwork used for concrete moulding in construction - had seen a drop in exports as more work was 're-shored' back to the UK.

"Our exports have dropped from 25 per cent of turnover to 15 per cent. There's been no loss of business, but a lot of our customers have seen work reshored to the UK so we are supplying them in the UK now."

Alloy Heat Treatment is another Black Country business putting its toe in export waters in response from growing demand for its specialist services processing aluminium.

Ian Perks, director for sales and new projects at the Dudley firm, said success working in Southern Ireland had pushed the company towards exporting its services to France and Germany.

Chris Greenough, director of Salop Powder Coating in Harlescott, near Shrewsbury, spoke of his company's success winning work in Germany, where firms were surprisingly keen to work with top UK engineering companies, given German's reputation as a centre for industrial excellence.

With exports accounting for 15-20 per cent of turnover, around half of that was coming from Germany, he said. He also raised the issue of transport, saying it was sometimes cheaper to ship goods to Germany than within the UK.

The forum was hosted by Lloyds Bank, at its Brindleyplace offices in Birmingham. Lloyd's Damian Glover outlined the importance of manufacturing and exports to the bank, saying it had committed another £4 billion to supporting industry between now and 2017. The bank was also investing in training to ensure more advisers in the field had a working knowledge of manufacturing industry and how it operated.

Also on hand to answer questions were representatives from UKTI and its financing sister organisation, UK Export Finance.

And there were hard questions on the speed of response from UKTI teams to queries about overseas markets.

Peter Turnock, of CMA Mouldform in Castle Bromwich, said such information was vital before a company committed to export: "You need to know if there is a market for your product, what the competition is, whether the price you can offer is going to be competitive."

Following the event, Made in the Midlands' head of communications, Matt Eccles, said: "The global market forum with UKTI and Lloyds Banking Group has been a really successful event for our members.

"The feedback from the participants was tremendous as both a platform for them to share experiences and trade ideas with one another but also to be heard by senior people at both the bank and UKTI.

"The event was governed by feedback from our 2014 Futures Survey showing general knowledge gaps in emerging market opportunities overseas.

"There will be a follow up to the forum at our Expo on May 22 where 1,000 firms across the region will come together to share ideas and network along with 100 of our member exhibitors.

"It will be the next in a succession of targeted events for the sector to help Midlands firms grow and is a must for anybody in manufacturing and engineering. "We're pleased that all of the participants of this export round table will be available for further comment as they're exhibiting at this important event for Midlands industry."