Making international contacts was key to increasing overseas sales by 1000%

A fragile domestic economy makes it hard for businesses to plan, but even harder for them to grow; however, trying to exploit the opportunities of international business development is a logical move, to cushion the effects of economic uncertainty.

For a company like Boardman Transformers, in Cumbria, having the desire to trade overseas isn’t enough; it's important to understand the markets you’re looking to work in, who to contact and who can help you succeed. There’s no shortage of stories about how businesses have come unstuck moving into new markets they don’t understand. So building up proper, advanced knowledge is important, to avoid unpleasant and/or costly consequences.

Managing director Martin Boardman explains: “We have managed to stay busy throughout the recession and we are still expanding our distribution base not only throughout the UK but other parts of the world as well.

In fact, over the past five years, Boardman Transformers’ exports have risen from £15,000 per annum to over £150,000 per annum and they now account for more than 20 percent of the firm’s turnover. The company attributes its success to its ‘ambitious forward-looking’ attitude, which has also resulted in it investing ‘significant sums’ in state-of-the-art machines to increase efficiency.


ORIGINS AND EXPORTING

The company was established by Martin’s father Ralph, in 1955, after he saw a gap in the market for ‘off-the-peg’ transformers. The company’s 15 man team now produces a comprehensive range of standard and bespoke transformers from its Cumbria factory, in Ulverston.

Martin says that the company seriously began to look at how to increase sales through exports, in 2003. But it lacked some of the knowledge of the local markets to take this step. To cover the gaps, the company began working with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).

Mr Boardman explains: “We first began working with UKTI seven years ago, when we made a conscious decision to improve export sales. We were doing some exporting through an intermediary, and we wanted to build up our own contacts and handle it ourselves. We signed up for ‘Passport to Export’ - UKTI’s flagship programme for new and inexperienced exporters."

This helped them to analyse their export strategy and offered ongoing advice and support tailored to the company’s needs.

“We don’t stock finished merchandise, but carry a lot of raw materials, and because of our efficiency we can turn orders around in under a week in the UK, with a similar time for overseas orders plus the additional shipping time.” Mr Boardman added.

Markets now include Kuwait, Saudi, Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar as well as Hong Kong - where it is currently undertaking a contract to manufacture transformers for the Mass Transit Railway Company (MTR).

“Just having someone to discuss things with is an amazing help and UKTI has provided a valuable extra resource for us, helping with both specific issues and general advice and support."