South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)

Lord Davies celebrates South-East’s export heroes

Release date: 23 October 2009

Some of the South-East's most successful exporting businesses were today congratulated on their achievements by Lord Davies of Abersoch, the Minister for Trade, Investment and Small Business.

The event, held at the Williams F1 Conference Centre, brought together more than 100 exporters from Hampshire, Berkshire, Sussex, Oxfordshire, Kent and Surrey.

Lord Davies said:

"It is fantastic to meet so many companies excelling at exports. These businesses are inspirational examples to others in the South East. Exporting makes businesses more resilient, innovative and competitive. It is sometimes daunting to take the first steps, but these companies show what can be achieved.”

The South East is the largest exporting region in the UK. Exports were just over £40 billion in 2008-09, an increase of 15.7 per cent on the previous year.

Pam Alexander, Chief Executive of SEEDA said:

"Last year's trade figures were extremely positive for the South East and achieved in a challenging economic climate. Working closely with UKTI, SEEDA helped 1,000 businesses in the South East access new market opportunities, which contributed to the largest increase in exports of all the English regions. The South East has the potential to drive the country out of recession and so h elping companies profit through global opportunities is a key priority.”

Companies at the event included:

• Vivomedica, a Kent-based pharmaceutical company that has developed a sophisticated system for evaluating the potential cardiotoxic side effects of new and existing drugs.

• First Cyber Security , a Woking-based business specialising in Internet security. They went on a UK Trade & Investment mission (UKTI) to the US to showcase security technologies to the US Department of Homeland Security.

• Phabrix, a Newbury-based company that designs and manufactures products for the professional broadcast market. More than 80% of its business comes from exports, to the US, Japan, Europe and the Far East.

• Vectair Systems, a Basingstoke-based manufacturer of commercial washroom products. Established in 1988, Vectair now sells to more than 65 countries worldwide from its European headquarters facility in Hampshire.

• Glide Pharmaceuticals. This Oxfordshire-based firm has developed its Glide SDI™ - Solid Dose Injector, which delivers vaccinations without injections, and recently took part in trade missions to Japan and India .

• Oxitec, based near Didcot, is a spin-off from Oxford University. It is carrying out work to eradicate mosquito-borne dengue fever, a disease that costs over $5 billion to tackle every year from which 2.5 billion people are at risk.

Companies wishing to find out more about the benefits of exporting are invited to visit UKTI's ‘Take It To The World' taxi , which will be parked on Broad Street, Oxford, between 1300 and 1500 on Friday 23 October.

South-East trade and investment factfile

• The top ten destinations for exporters in the South East are: the USA, Germany, Netherlands, France, the Republic of Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Russia and Sweden.

• UKTI has 36 International Trade Advisers working in the South East.
  
• The South East remains one of the most attractive investment locations in the UK. Some 250 inward investment projects were recorded in 2008/09, creating 3,249 new jobs.
  
• UKTI generates £16 in additional profit for its clients for every £1 of spend.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Tessa Fras, UK Trade & Investment Press Office
Tel: 020 7215 8483
Email: tessa.fras@ukti.gsi.gov.uk

View full media release here.

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