Microslat’s U.S. schemesuccess
A TEES Valley firm is set to stamp its mark in the USA thanks to the help of an initiative offering free trade flights to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Microslat International of Darlington is among the first to benefit from a new British Airways and UK Trade and Investment initiative offering 4,000 free flights to eligible firms to enable them to attend overseas events, visit new markets or exhibit at trade shows.
Terry Dady, managing director at Microslat International, - which produces aluminium slatwall and display products - took advantage of the initiative to travel to the US to attend the American Library Association Show in Chicago in July.
He also met UKTI's commercial officers in Chicago for an insight into the market.
The global retail and library markets are the company's main targets for its specialist systems which cover all manner of display solutions.
Mr Dady said: “As there are many Anglo/American companies operating in both retail and library markets, the USA was an obvious choice for us to expand our business and to do this we needed to visit trade shows to establish the best way forward.
“While we already have some experience of exporting, particularly to the US, it is a huge market and cannot be operated through one distributor alone.
“Therefore the help we’ve had from UKTI and BA to help us visit the market has been invaluable - without it the costs would have been astronomical.
“And we have now formulated a strategy to develop our presence in the USA and will be exhibiting there next year.”
The British Airways-UKTI offer is designed to support UK SMEs, relatively new to exporting or looking to establish in new markets.
