Media releases
Click on a date below to display media releases.
Export Cornwall launches £3.2 million second phase
31.05.12
The second phase of a highly successful project aimed at putting businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly on the global map has been launched following the approval of almost £2.5 million of ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) Convergence investment.
Export Cornwall aims to increase the number and scale of businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly trading internationally. It is estimated that by the time the second part of this project ends, in 2015, 345 businesses will have been supported and 410 jobs created.
The second phase of the project has been approved for £2,463,393 ERDF Convergence, with a further £446,131 coming from UKTI (UK Trade and Industry) and £375,000 from the private sector. It will be delivered by Peninsula Enterprise.
Rory Uniacke, Head of UKTI with Peninsula Enterprise said, “We will continue to build on the achievements made so far through the Export Cornwall Service. We are keen to work closely with the private and public sector organisations in Cornwall to ensure that all potential and current exporters have the best possible support available to meet their growth potential.”
Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Convergence Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said, "European investment in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is intended to strengthen the economy and create better quality jobs via a variety of routes. In the current economic climate where austerity measures out way growth interventions, here in Cornwall we can still invest in those activities which support domestic growth earned from international markets.”
Export Cornwall has four main activities:
- Intensive Support to Target Companies – to include brokerage to Business Development Vouchers (BDV) to an agreed strategic plan.
- The Network Offer – intensified support and, importantly, aftercare for businesses involved with networks and clusters; with particular focus on advanced engineering, ICT, creative industries, biomedical, marine, and renewable energy and environmental technologies.
- Innovation in Services – additional forms of support for joint venturing; alliances; partnerships; expert team to pilot, imbed and/or import good practice from national or international experience.
- Stimulating Knowledge of Internationalisation – a strategic marketing and communications plan to enhance knowledge of internationalisation for key partners and target companies.
The original Export Cornwall supported well over 300 Cornish businesses, both by attending specific workshops and with support from an International Trade Adviser.
One company to benefit from that project was Falmouth-based Research Instruments, a well-established business specialising in IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation). Since using the Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS), which provides in-depth market research through the UKTI teams based in Embassies worldwide, Research Instruments has appointed distributors in Israel, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam and is planning an expansion into Cuba.
Founded in 2008, Bodmin-based Pure Vista is a newer company that has seen rapid growth and is also looking to expand overseas. The company is a UK leading system supplier of frameless glass balustrades. It benefited from Export Cornwall workshops – ‘Appointing Agents and Distributors’ and ‘Marketing for International Growth’ – and there are also plans to access the OMIS.
Marketing and Export Manager, Steve Burton, said, ““We are operating in a market experiencing significant worldwide growth. We already have some international business, our products have been used as far afield as Antigua in the Caribbean and closer to home in Ireland, but we are now developing a more strategic approach to how we build further growth and take the business forward.
“Through Export Cornwall, we also now have the support of an International Trade Advisor, who can act as a sounding board and provide valuable ongoing advice. We have big ambitions and with the support of Export Cornwall, we plan to fully exploit the potential of international trade.”
Further information
Sue Hensman, Marketing & Events Support Officer, Peninsula Enterprise
Tel: 01752 759897 ext 8254
Clare Morgan, Media Relations Manager, Convergence Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
Tel: 01872 241379 / 07973 813647
cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk
