Maldon company in class(room) of its own in the Middle East

Buyers from the Middle East have been sitting up and taking notice of the products on offer from Maldon classroom chairs and table manufacturer Proform Europe recently.

At the GESS (Global Education Supplies & Solutions) exhibition in Dubai, the company came away with business potentially worth £100k over the next year and is now set to turn its attention to the Middle East to complement its traditional UK based business. “ Our family run business has been established in the UK market for 30 years (the company has sold 3.6 million of its bestselling Skidbase chairs across London and Essex), but because of budget restrictions the spend is declining,” says Sales Manager Kate Moore. “Imports coming in from China have also meant

lower prices, making it increasingly difficult to sustain.”

“We were already aware of other companies exporting and having considerable success after talking to UKTI”

After seeing two of its largest competitors go out of business Proform realised it was time to look at alternatives if it was to continue to thrive. “It’s already a low margin business and on top of that

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Published July 2016 by UK Trade & Investment

we’re under pressure to reduce costs at the same time as manufacturing costs are rising,” says Kate. This led them to approaching UKTI (UK Trade & Investment) East with the aim of developing an export strategy. “We were already aware of other companies exporting and having considerable success and after talking to UKTI International Trade Adviser Martin Senior we realised there is a demand for British made, good quality products in the Middle East.” The company also has the advantage of offering something unique to the market with a new range of chairs with an anti bacterial protection that it has developed with BioCote. “BioCote has run a year long case study where they compared one classroom with treated chairs and tables with one with untreated,” explains Kate. “The results show that the treated ones reduced bacteria by up to 97%. Over the period of the study absenteeism due to illness, in the treated classroom also reduced by a significant 20%. This can have a great impact on the economy. BioCote technology is proven effective against many illness causing bacteria such as MRSA, salmonella and E-coli.”

Its first steps towards exporting was signing up to UKTI’s Passport to Export programme, which provides new and inexperienced exporters with training, planning and ongoing support, attending various workshops and also the ExploreExport event at Newmarket Racecourse in November, where experts from more than 60 countries were on hand. “Meeting representatives from different regions helped us with our research and enabled us to pinpoint areas of interest, which turned out to be Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” says Kate. Coincidentally, the company was then contacted by a distributor in the UAE keen to distribute its products in Qatar. With the support of UKTI it was then able to take the products to GESS, where it was able to exhibit on its own stand as well as the distributor’s. “The exhibition was extremely successful,” says Kate. “It was a great opportunity

to meet influential people, which included the Minister of Education in Dubai and the PHCC, their equivalent of the NHS. “

“ Meeting representatives from different regions helped us with our research and enabled us to pinpoint areas of interest, which turned out to be Saudi Arabia and the UAE. ”

Since the event Proform has been in discussion with the distributor to finalise its agreement as well as following up leads and working with Martin Senior at UKTI on the next stage of its exporting journey. Following the GESS exhibition there has also been interest from Italy, India and Kenya. “It’s important that we now gain more knowledge of the markets such as cultural differences and contractual issues. It’s a learning curve, but nothing fazes us!” says Kate. “The support from UKTI has been invaluable, from supporting us to go to GESS to small things such as advice on price lists etc. It should continue to be invaluable as we progress and look to swat up on specialist areas.”

Says Martin Senior : ”Having had first-hand experience of the Middle East education sector I have been able to help Proform make the first important steps in developing the market for their products. There is still more to do but it is great working with a company so keen to expand their knowledge and market share“.

Proform is also keen to balance its exporting with what it does in the UK and Kate believes they will complement each other well. “Our factory is not as efficient as it could be because the UK demand is very seasonal. Export work will allow us to be more efficient and lower unit costs. It will also allow us to reach a wider market and the antibacterial range gives us a real USP and something I believe has benefits that will have worldwide appeal.”

What next

To find more opportunities in other markets, just visit https://www.exportingisgreat.gov.uk/opportunities/ and use the criteria most relevant to your product or service.

If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact your International Trade Advisor. If you are unsure who your advisor is or you would like to be put in touch with one, please contact our customer services team on 01707 398 398 or email EastInfo@mobile.ukti.gov.uk