Supertrucks: 15% German export growth.

St Helens-based Supertrucks custom-builds and adapts vans, lorries and trucks into sheet-glass carriers for glazing companies and, in just one year, has seen sales to Germany increase by more than 15% – rising from £95,000 in 2007/08 to £111,000 in 2008/09.

Chairman Peter Wright has also completed an order to Belgium. He told ModernSelling.com: ‘We were anticipating a downturn in the UK and so were keen to look abroad and now the export side of the business is helping us through the recession.’

Pictured above: Supertrucks has built its first bodies on the latest Nissan Cabstar 3.5 tonne chassis cab. Two coachbuilt glass carriers set off for delivery to Dochy Glass at Verne in Belgium.

Coachbuilding

Supertrucks has a turnover of around £2m and does everything from installing basic glazing racks to adapting 26 tonne HGVs (heavy goods vehicles) into glass-carriers complete with open roofs which can accommodate crane-loaded sheet glass. Founded in 1981, it grew out of the experience Wright picked up working at his family’s coachbuilding firm.

He said: ‘A lot of coachbuilders were beginning to specialise in just one type of vehicle at that time, and so we chose to manufacture vans for glazing carriers. What we do cannot be done on a production line.’

Supertrucks contacted UKTI in order to boost its exports to Europe, by building on its growing success in Germany, and also establish a presence in the US market.

Wright explained: ‘We got a lot of advice from UKTI about the USA, we made a trip to Philadelphia to see potential distributors and finished up supplying a small order worth £10,000. But we are currently in talks with a firm in Kansas with a view to exporting our product in kit form and sharing technologies with them.’

Breakthroughs

However, the real breakthroughs have come in Europe. In 2008, UKTI supported a trip to the 2008 Fenster-Bau Exhibition in Nuremburg, a trip which led directly to Supertruck’s 15% increase in German sales. That success encouraged Peter and his team to exhibit again, this time at the recent Glasstech event in Dusseldorf where Supertrucks not only picked up further German orders, but also clinched a potentially lucrative deal with a distributor in France.

Wright said: ‘There is a huge market in France for our products and we want to improve our sales there but we also want to continue looking at the US and so that’s an ongoing story.’

Despite these successes, business remains tough. However, Wright added: ‘We would have been suffering a lot more right now if we had not had UKTI support to get to Nuremburg and win more export business. Of all my orders since January, 50% have come from Germany and Belgium.

‘I would recommend that other small firms talk to UKTI; most manufacturing companies of our size are run by very practical people and, although we may be determined and have a good product, we do need advice from organisations like UKTI to direct us into good export markets.’

More than just an optional extra

International trade advisor Mike Cobb, who worked closely with Wright and his team, said: ‘The experience of Supertrucks should demonstrate to all manufacturers, especially those at the smaller end of the scale, that overseas markets represent more than just an optional extra – they can anchor a business by spreading its risk.

He added: ‘Peter and his colleagues read the market very well and, having anticipated the current downturn, moved quickly to expand their operations on the continent. It is great to hear, even at this early stage, they are seeing the benefits of that move and are securing their long-term future as a strong, specialist manufacturer.

Cobb told ModernSelling.com: ‘UKTI can offer a wide range of assistance to companies wanting to build trade in overseas markets, including advice on everything from market opportunities to product liability, intellectual property rights, managing agents and distributors and finance. It also delivers a comprehensive programme of overseas trade missions and UK-based events such as Meet the Buyer. We would urge any other companies looking to develop their overseas trade strategy to get in touch and see how we can help.’

For further information on UK Trade & Investment services, contact the North West International Trade Team on  0845 603 7053; email info@uktinorthwest.co.uk.

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