‘Initially the challenge was building a reputation overseas by spending time on the ground, building relationships. Beyond that, the challenges are financial. As an owner-managed SME, we rely solely on our own re-investment and the support of our bank. Our UK work is credit-insured, but trading abroad brings very different problems around credit exposure and working capital.
‘I think a lot of businesses would say – ‘we know there’s potential customers out there for us’, but when you look to trade overseas the initial fear is – am I going to get paid? And, depending on the nature of the project, is the cash flow there? This could be due to long shipment periods and extended payment terms requested by our overseas customers. If we’re trading in the Middle East, the product is on the water for 4-5 weeks. They don’t consider that you’ve delivered the product until it arrives in the port. And then there’s customs procedures and potential delays. So, the customer needs some credit as well. These two issues – the working capital demand and the credit risk itself – are massive factors in businesses choosing to export.
‘Our customers in the Middle East are often large retailers who are carrying out a store refresh or a new site-build. Individual projects can be significant in size for us, with a much longer manufacturing period compared to the contracts we complete in the UK. The challenge for us is to make sure we get paid and to fund our suppliers and labour force during the longer manufacturing period.’