Build your exports to grow global

Helping businesses to grow through exporting supports the delivery of a stronger and more sustainable Northern Ireland economy. There is often a chain reaction when a company grows its international reach; with access to new customers comes company expansion, job creation and potentially further innovation to ensure competitiveness.

Thinking strategically from the outset is a must and we can help with this.

Invest NI’s  experienced trade team & sector-specific trade advisors in Northern Ireland deliver wraparound advice, guidance and a suite of export capability development programmes to help you assess your export-readiness, devise your export strategy, and prepare you to explore and maximise opportunities in new overseas markets.

Our extensive network of commercial experts in 24 locations around the world including GB and Europe, the Americas, India Middle East & Africa and Asia Pacific can help you identify the right markets for your business, provide bespoke insights, practical know-how and ‘hand-holding’ to help you navigate the challenges of new market entry and win new customers. This expertise and on-the-ground support can arm exporters with the confidence and capability to get out there and explore new opportunities.

The Deluxe Group in Portadown is just one Northern Ireland company which has used our support to grow its exports in multiple markets. The company is an internationally focussed interior fitting specialist and has built an excellent reputation globally. Our trade support has played a critical role in helping it to create its global export marketing strategy, which has helped it to secure contracts in the US, Japan, Spain, France and the Middle East.

Our USA team has been working with the company to establish themselves in Florida, in particular the themed entertainment market where an early success has been securing a project creating themed sets and props for a major new rollercoaster ride in Orlando. The Deluxe Group was one of the first companies to participate in the Invest NI Graduate into Export programme providing a dedicated graduate resource to help research and determine their export marketing strategy.

Find out more about how we have helped the company in these markets here:

Companies like Erth Engineering and Pollock Lifts have used our Trade Advisory Service (TAS) to grow exports and break into new markets. TAS offers 1:1 support from an experienced in-market consultant adviser to help identify and address your specific challenges to selling successfully outside Northern Ireland.

Carrickfergus based lift manufacturer Pollock Lifts recently used the support to break into the Spanish market and secure new contracts. The company already sells its products in GB and is exporting to Ireland and Australia but wanted to focus on the European market and identified Spain as a potential option. Our in-market team in Madrid helped the company to research the market and identify local partners capable of stocking, marketing and installing Pollock Lifts in Spain. Following this support, the company has initially secured four orders estimated to be worth £120,000 with further orders expected this year. With the experience gained from this success, Pollock Lifts has made strides in the Canadian market following support from our inmarket team and is using this as a springboard into a number of new markets including the US, Australia, and the Middle East.

Having identified opportunities in The Netherlands, Magherafelt based manufacturing firm Bloc Blinds approached Invest NI for support to grow its exports in the market. To help support its export strategy, our International Trade Advisors based in Northern Ireland encouraged the company to participate on the Going Dutch Programme which helped it manage the various challenges with exporting to The Netherlands. Since then, it has grown sales rapidly in the market. To help it keep up with demand for its products it used our EU Exit Preparation grant to open a warehouse facility in Benelux last year. Having the storage facility during lockdown meant that the company could still trade and keep up with orders in the market because they had stock readily available. The company is now actively working to expand its global footprint and is working with our US team to replicate its success.  

In early 2020, Seaforde based Agri-Tech firm Erth Engineering participated on our sector trade mission Fima Agricola in a bid to enter the Spanish market for the first time. The company already exports to New Zealand, Germany and a number of other European countries but wanted to use this export experience to grow its exports into Europe further. Our in-market team in Spain were on hand to help the company overcome any language barriers and organised a schedule of meetings at the trade show, including with machinery distributor, Fleigl Iberica, providing simultaneous translation support throughout. As a result, the company has now appointed a distributor in Spain, is working to grow export sales in the region, and is looking ahead to other markets with its sights set on Latin America.   

If you would like to explore growing your exports, we have the expertise, experience and on the ground support to help you succeed. Please contact your Client Executive or call our Business Support Team on 0800 181 4422.