Inaugural export lunch staged to boost international trade

30th April 2013

Businesses from the Sheffield City Region joined export advisors in a round-table lunch aimed at sharing knowledge and experience on international trade.

The South Yorkshire International Trade Centre (SYITC) organised the inaugural exporters' lunch with partners Hill Dickinson, 512 and the Sheffield International Freight Terminal (SH-I-F-T). A number of businesses from different sectors and varying levels of exporting experience, with export sales ranging from 20-85 percent, attended the event, which was staged at Hill Dickinson in Sheffield. The main issues raised by companies included the need for the exporting landscape to be made easier by Government and HMRC to facilitate the processes of exporting overseas. Other key areas covered international payment methods, a shortage in export skills and understanding the cultures and languages of various markets around the world. The creation of a new international freight terminal and using the expert assistance from organisations such as SYITC, Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, Hill Dickinson and international freight management company 512, were all pointed as a support network for companies looking to increase their export sales from the city region. Giles Searby from Hill Dickinson said: -This was the first exporters' lunch we have staged and hopefully it will be the start of a series of similar events being held in the Sheffield City Region. -There were many interesting and insightful topics discussed during the lunch, which offered an opportunity for businesses and export advisors to meet face-to-face to discuss best practice. SYITC offers broad support for local businesses to grow their global market, including export documentation, international training courses, consultancy and language services. Michelle Daniel, international trade manager at South Yorkshire International Trade Centre, added: -Overall, despite the obstacles companies have to overcome, Sheffield is fantastic at exporting. In March, we saw £20million-worth of exports come through the Sheffield Chamber for documentation, which we estimate is just 20 percent of the overall total for the city. The companies which attended the lunch included Durham Duplex, Pinder Bros, President Engineering Group, Anchor Magnets, ATI Allvac, Cutting & Wear, Macalloy and IML Labels. Carl Foster, from Durham Duplex, added: -'I think the relaxed discussion environment worked well and the mixture of people from different areas of industry was good. It was an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences and keep up to date with what is available from SYITC, Hill Dickinson, 512 and SH-I-F-T.' For more information about SYITC visit www.syitc.com or call (0114) 201 8888 or email info@syitc.com.