Telford cheese firm changes export strategy to keep Brexit costs under control

Telford's Bridge Cheese sources a wide a range of cheese from across the UK and Europe that are then formatted and processed for wholesale distributors across the UK and export markets, including those outside of the EU.

Managing director Michael Harte said food and drink exports from the UK are recognised globally for their quality and so international sales of his company’s products are a major part of the business.

However, the current challenges mean the company has had to make changes in a bid to control costs.

“This is because goods going to the EU now all have to undergo veterinarian inspections to certify they meet health regulations and to check labelling and storage," Mr Harte said. "It costs the same to have 20 pallets inspected as it does just one.

“We have a huge market on our doorstep but that can’t be reached competitively for speciality products. The relatively small nature of our company means we are able to flex much more easily to customer demands which is helping, but there’s no doubt that costs are rising."

Meanwhile, Gary Seale, managing director of iDry in Much Wenlock, has experienced numerous difficulties as a direct result of Brexit.

“Paperwork when dealing with Italian suppliers has been very cumbersome and adds significant disruption to the process, whilst there is definitely profiteering going on in the EU that is thinly veiled as ‘due to Brexit’.

“The other major issue we’ve found when building our unique body drying technology is an increase in price and lead times from China, with many firms going back on original contracts that were in place.

“In some instances, we’ve been held to ransom, but on a positive note we’ve used these experiences as a catalyst to reshore and try to ensure our product boasts as much UK content as possible.”

He added: “One example is a manufacturing match made in heaven. Birmingham’s Tooling2000, came to the rescue when the rollout of our iDry product was set to stall due to the existing Chinese supplier giving a nine-month lead time for three crucial parts.

“The metal stamping and precision component specialist used its expertise in forming and prototyping, combined with a wide array of CNC and laser cutting machining, to produce an emergency tool that could produce the same parts – used in the fan housing – in just seven days.

“The components are better quality and more aesthetically pleasing thanks to the use of stainless steel and the new process.”