Irish businesses look at overseas trading to guarantee survival and kick-start business growth
As the Irish economy is faced with a new identity driven by export rather than domestic activity, Irish businesses are increasingly looking at overseas trading opportunities to not only guarantee their survival but to once again kick-start business growth.
However, despite the increased level of export activity recorded, there is still room for improvement in increasing the level of export activity amongst Irish SME’s. Misplaced fears over exporting and lack of access to funding remain some of the main obstacles for businesses to take that next step.
According to Peter Brady, Managing Director Heatsolve, the wire manufacturer that provides heating requirements globally, the benefits of exporting has seen his company grow rapidly.
“From the beginning we set about securing business overseas. Having set up initially in Mayo we now have offices around the world exporting to Europe, UK, Asia, North America and South Africa.”
Peter acknowledges that in the initial stages of setting up an export-led business there were some obstacles to be overcome. “One of the main issues we encountered when developing Heatsolve was the length of time involved in securing new business, the cost associated with travel and the upfront costs required to build momentum. In addition to this the lead times in getting product overseas to the required destination and then waiting for customer payments to be received had a big impact on the level of working capital available to us.”
To overcome this, Heatsolve opted for export invoice finance with Bibby Financial Services (BFS). “The flexibility of export invoice finance with Bibby Financial Services has allowed us to focus on growing our business, safe in the knowledge that our cash flow needs were being met. Traditional lenders often have restrictions whether geographically, as they often won’t assist you if you are exporting to certain parts of the world, or in terms of the amount of capital available to you at any given time. With BFS we have room to manoeuvre and this flexibility has given us the necessary support to develop our business internationally.”
For those considering trading overseas, it is important to remember that there is support available to you. “There are support systems out there to help you whether in the initial planning stages or whether you are looking to build on export activity. The Irish Exporters Association and Enterprise Ireland offer excellent support in terms of offering assistance in generating worldwide introductions and in identifying markets. You don’t have to work on your own and in the end the benefits of exporting far outweigh any initial obstacles.” said Peter.
Posted on 01 January 0001