Tag Archives: Exports

News

International business leaders to headline first Welsh exports conference

INTERNATIONAL business leaders will join a unique conference promoting exports and global opportunities for companies in Wales.

The first ever Global Reach Out – GOT24 Wales (Global Opportunities to Trade) – is an event to be delivered by Wrexham-based International Trade Support Group (ITSG) and Antur Cymru on behalf of Powys County Council via the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.

It takes place at the Metropole Hotel in Llandrindod Wells, Powys, on Tuesday November 5 from 9am-4pm.

Owners and managers of some of the world’s most successful exporters, including Thomond Gate Whiskey founder Nicholas Ryan, and speakers from Japan, the US, and Ireland, will headline on the day.

ITSG World Director Clive Barnard – who has more than 30 years’ industry experience, including a decade with Business Wales – said attendees can learn all about the world of international sales and building relationships overseas, no matter the size of their organisation.

“This is a platform for businesses in Powys to network and access real opportunities to sell their products or services globally,” said Clive.

“As well as guest speakers on live video link, we will have a host of trade specialists joining us in-person from a wide range of sectors such as finance, logistics, customs and marketing.

“GOT24 Wales is a unique opportunity for businesses of all sizes to begin their export journey and forge new partnerships that could help them reach the next level, creating jobs and supporting the economy in mid-Wales.”

During the event, a new network will be launched – Traders of Celtic Nations Alliance – which will enable start-ups, SMEs and small businesses to sell their products and “celebrate the values and culture of Wales”.

Welsh Government figures released in March for the previous 12 months revealed the value of goods exports for Wales was £19.1 billion and the EU accounted for 58.7% of Welsh export values compared with 50.1% for the UK.

Export values from Wales continued to be dominated by Machinery and Transport Equipment, which made up £8.3 billion (43.2%), an increase of £0.3 billion (3.4%) compared to the year ending March 2023. ‘Mineral Fuels’ continue to be the second highest value exported product, worth £3.4 billion in the year ending March 2024, making up 17.6% of export values.

In addition to live presentations, GOT24 Wales will feature breakout sessions, networking, one-to-one surgeries, a Meet the Experts Q&A, and talks by ITSG World directors Keith Stringer and Patricia Carlin, Fuse Logistics director Lyndsey Bell, and Dominic McGough, founder and CEO of CustomsPlus, who has more than 40 years of experience including all aspects of Integrated Supply Chain and related Technologies.

Patricia added: “Wales has always punched above its weight on the world stage, and this is a conference that will showcase and celebrate that, as well as demonstrating how to lay commercial foundations overseas.

“There are so many opportunities out there in a wide range of industries and this event will offer guidance and advice on how to capitalise on them, as well as hearing from a select group of talented global entrepreneurs and experts who have done so themselves.”

Visit www.itsgworld.com and email info@ITSGworld.com to book your free place and for more news and information from International Trade Support Group (ITSG).

For more on Antur Cymru, visit the website www.anturcymru.org.uk and follow them on social media at @AnturCymruWales. Alternatively, call 01239 710238 or email info@anturcymru.org.uk.

Awards, News

Lifetime achievement award for B-ICC’s Gideon Klaus

A lifetime achievement award has been presented to Gideon Klaus to honour him for nearly 30 years’ service as executive director of the British-Israel Chamber of Commerce, which promotes and strengthens trade and investment links with the north west.

Gideon, 86, stood down last summer and was succeeded by Nigel Tobias, an experienced entrepreneur with a background in retailing, property and consulting.

Nigel presented the accolade to Gideon at a B-ICC breakfast event in Manchester.

Gideon, who remains involved as the B-ICC’s vice-chairman, said: “It was a great surprise and very emotional to receive the award.

“I started with the organisation in October 1994 and have thoroughly enjoyed working with companies and individuals in the north west and Israel to help them build connections and do business together.

“Israel and north west England are catalysts for many global innovations and it’s been wonderful and satisfying for the B-ICC to play a part in fostering greater collaboration through joint ventures, partnerships and product development.

“I’m pleased that the B-ICC is going from strength to strength, with new people at the helm who have the right skills to take it to the next level.”

As well as being vice-chairman of the B-ICC, Gideon is involved in forging business links with Israel through a number of other advisory and consulting roles.

The B-ICC was relaunched last year with Nigel as executive director and Manchester lawyer Robert Levy as president alongside a new committee.

It has a substantial membership base of individuals and businesses involved in sectors including professional services, banking and finance, property development, retailing, clothing and importing.

Robert said: “Our mission is to build business links between UK and Israeli businesses to create relationships, mutual understanding and opportunities.

“We help UK companies aiming to enter the Israeli market, as well as those seeking to source new products and services, and we promote the north west as a business location for Israeli firms looking to expand overseas.

“The B-ICC does this by providing professional support and advice as well as by arranging trade missions and organising events and networking opportunities.”

Nigel said: “Gideon has given tremendous service to the B-ICC and has been steadfast in building lasting business relationships between the UK and Israel. Everyone connected with the organisation has great respect for all that he does.

“He is a hard act to follow but Robert and I, together with our new committee, are working to the best of our ability to build on his good work and we will continue to seek Gideon’s advice regularly.

“Following two recent events, we have had nearly two dozen new members or expressions of interest in joining, which we are delighted about.

“We continue to engage with trade missions from Israel to the north west, including most recently for the water industry.”

Israel is currently the UK’s 41st largest trading partner. New figures from the Department for Business & Trade show total trade between the countries in 2023 was £6.1bn, with the north west accounting for £272m.

Manufacturing, News

Alloy Wire International promises ‘security of supply’ with largest ever stand at Wire 2022

Security of supply, unrivalled lead times, technical expertise and a potential new alloy will be just four of the major talking points when the UK’s leading manufacturer of round, flat and profile wire takes its largest ever presence (Stand 11 E26) at Wire 2022 between 20th and 24th June.

Alloy Wire International (AWI) is returning to Dusseldorf for the first time since Covid-19 and is expecting to target spring, semiconductor and fasteners manufacturers involved in automotive, aerospace, electronics and the booming oil and gas sector.

The company, which has recently invested more than £500,000 into a new warehouse extension in the UK, will take ten staff over to Germany as it looks to reinforce its reputation as a hub of technical knowledge for clients and suppliers.

This will be reinforced by sales representatives covering more than 13 individual territories, reflecting the truly global nature of Wire 2022.

Mark Venables, Managing Director at AWI, commented: “This event has been a long time coming and will be a fantastic showcase for everyone connected with the wire industry.

“With all the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, our customers are really looking for security of supply and that involves knowing there is the right volume and variety of material available and that we can still deliver within our expected short lead times”

He continued: “Every decision we made during Covid-19 was taken to ensure we continued to give the same level of manufacturing quality and reliable delivery, and this has paid off with the start of this year turning out to be our busiest yet, something we hope to build on at Wire 2022.

“Our biggest ever stand will have display cases with sample round, flat and shaped wire alongside a video screen showing behind-the-scenes manufacturing processes of wire being produced in our factory in the UK.”

Alloy Wire International will use the industry’s largest show to introduce INCONEL: 617®, a nickel-chromium-cobalt-molybdenum-aluminium alloy.

This is its latest addition to a 60+ range of alloys and delivers a combination of increased strength and stability at elevated temperatures (up to 1100°C/2012°F), whilst retaining the high temperature resistance of INCONEL® alloy 601.

It has been a busy period for the firm’s R&D programme, which has also just started testing and production trials of INCONEL® alloy 686 ahead of a potential launch at the end of 2022.

Following requests by design engineers and customers, AWI is looking to make this wire available as part of its standard range and this is set to be of major interest to petrochemical customers and clients involved in chemical processing, pollution control, waste processing and paper manufacture.

“This single-phase, austenitic Nickel-Chromium-Molybdenum-Tungsten∞ alloy offers outstanding corrosion resistance to both reducing and oxidising acids and to mixed acid solutions”, added Andrew Du Plessis, Technical Director at Alloy Wire International.

“The Molybdenum (Mo) and Tungsten (W) elements in the alloy aid resistance to localised corrosion, such as pitting, with resistance to crevice corrosion being enhanced by the combined alloying of Cr+Mo+W.”

He concluded: “Its qualities place it in the same arena as corrosion resistant Alloys, such as C276, C22 and INCONEL® alloy 625.”

Brexit, News

Improving trade with non-EU nations to boost British exporters

Written by Mr. Kunal Sawhney, CEO, Kalkine Media

The cross-border trade to and from the United Kingdom has been a victim of multiple adversities including the ever-evolving problems due to the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath, supply side disruptions, shortage of hauliers and the induction of new trade arrangement between the UK and European Union post termination of the Brexit transition period.

The present calendar year has been quite volatile for international trade as the domestic exporters felt the double distress in January-February period with the Downing Street announcing the third national lockdown and the businesses adjusting their operations according to the administerial modifications in the ongoing processes following the zero tariff and zero quota agreement with the bloc.

Since the last couple of years, the government of the UK has been increasingly trying to magnify the proportion of exports and imports linked to the non-EU countries, especially the nations where the penetration of UK-based goods is relatively low.

Augmenting the broken trade ties with countries outside the Euro Area will certainly diversify the so-called dependence on a handful of international markets and, at the same, British exporters can offset the potential losses incurred in the recent past by increasing the trade volumes, effectively helping the administration to narrow the gap trade deficit.

According to the latest trade data publicised by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the net trade deficit in the three months to August of 2021 rose to £6.6 billion, registering an increase of £4.5 billion as compared to the preceding three-month period. During the corresponding stretch, the quantum of exports reduced by £0.8 billion to £144.8 billion, while imports surged by £3.7 billion to £151.4 billion.

Marginal improvement in the exports volumes and the frequency of partners looking for British-made goods is not going to help the trade deficit to narrow in the upcoming months as the businesses continue to face the industry-wide operational challenges due to the extended course of Covid-19 and regional troubles in various international markets. In the month of August itself, the total exports shrank by £1.3 billion.

Considerable increase in the number of export orders, more countries willing to import British-made goods, and friendly cross-border arrangement for the domestic traders remain the primary driving factors that can collectively ameliorate the net exports from the UK to EU, as well as non-EU regions, productively helping to reduce the burdening trade deficit.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has recently clinched a free-trade agreement with the New Zealand counterpart PM Jcinda Ardern, fulfilling the broader objective of increasing the potential number of international trading partners other than the countries under the umbrella of the European Union.

The all-inclusive trade arrangement and the newly agreed terms between the UK and New Zealand will help reduce red tape for the domestic enterprises involved in exports of goods, at a time when it will become easier for UK professionals to live and work in New Zealand. Alongside this, the technology and services corporations will be better equipped for creating thousands of new opportunities, effectively complementing the down-trodden employment landscape as a result of the acute limitedness of the workforce.

With the UK and New Zealand agreeing to cut red tape and tariffs on the goods exchanged, the domestic exporters and a plethora of small-to-medium scale businesses stand to benefit greatly in terms of volume and overall profitability. Led by the negotiators of the Department for International Trade for 16 months, British PM Johnson and New Zealand PM Ardern agreed on the terms that are highly likely to enhance trading volumes for both the nations.

In 2020, the total trade between the UK and New Zealand stood at £2.3 billion. Subsequent to the new trading arrangement, the quantum of trade will improve in the upcoming quarters as domestic businesses from both the nations are looking forward to maximising the benefit of tariff-free trade, at a time when the largest economies struggle with reciprocatory trade practices.

With the deeper cooperation on climate change and digital trade, there will be a number of opportunities for the UK citizens to live and work in New Zealand with the help of the new trade deal. Furthermore, the trading arrangement will make it easier for the smaller corporations to reach out to potential international customers in the New Zealand market.

Both the nations have a mutual admiration for each other’s traditional products as the local consumers in the United Kingdom will be able to enjoy Manuka honey, exotic fruits including kiwi and Sauvignon Blanc wine at a much cheaper price as compared to the previous market prices.

On the other hand, the British exporters will be able to capitalise on the removal of 10% tariff as the volume of products from buses to bulldozers, ships to excavators and clothing to footwear can be increased as New Zealand market remains a major consumer of branded products sourced from various international partners as it is poised to grow nearly 30% by the end of 2030.

Not only this, both the nations have committed to explore the possibilities of deepening the people-to-people links across the nations as UK-based workers will benefit from the improved business travel arrangements.

Professionals including lawyers and architects will be equipped to work in New Zealand more easily as compared to the working conditions now as the UK companies will be allowed to set up shop and bring the best talent with them. For instance, the insurance and financial services corporations based out of Edinburgh will have wider access to New Zealand’s market following the easing of business travel and digital trade.

Automobile corporations situated in Wales will materially benefit from the tariff-free exports as they exported nearly £3.4 million worth of road vehicles to New Zealand in the Covid-laden 2020. The vehicle sales across the world is on track of improvement and will see a sharp spike in the first quarter and forthcoming period of 2022, the countries manage to contain the coronavirus activity, while increasing the proportion of immunised citizens.

The manufacturing companies including K-form and Zip-Clip will also benefit from the removal of 5% tariff on construction products and metal goods as construction activity remains a key driver for many nation’s overall economic output. With Covid-19 witnessing a substantial fallback and New Zealand’s supremely protective stance against the pandemic, the construction orders are expected to go up in the near term.