I have a soft spot for Bristol. A great combination of old and new UK and lots of innovative SMEs!
We have seen large numbers of companies from the South West in Australia in recent months and they have demonstrated many times that smart companies with good products who prepare well often do good business in Australia.
I met with Steve Watts from SecurEnvoy one of the inventors of token-less authentication. This technology makes logging onto your office system, checking your emails and communicating with a workgroup safe and secure without the need for a number generating token. The company is already working in 37 countries and there appears to be great opportunities to do business in Australia. Our Australian ICT sector lead Jim Thompson from Melbourne will be following up with SecurEnvoy in the next few weeks.
Next in to see me was a company called Tungum based in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. Tungum manufactures the world famous "Tungum Alloy" a brass-like metal made from a combination of aluminum, nickel and silicon. It's often used for pipes and in extreme environments, such as the North Sea, or in military and aeronautical applications because of its extraordinary durability and great strength to weight ratio. The company is planning to visit Australia for the major oil and gas exhibition in March 2010. UKTI will be able to support them on the visit to ensure that they make the best use of their time. And with the booming mining, oil and gas sectors in Western Australia the opportunities for Tungum are huge. Who said the UK didn’t manufacture anymore?
I spent the afternoon with SWERDA the Regional Development Agency for the South West. They support Australian (and other) companies who want to invest in the South West. They work hard to promote the benefits of the South West, such as the amount of investment, expertise and research that is going into the development of a wave hub. The South West can truly claim to be at the forefront of development in this important new sustainable technology. If you are an Australian company wanting to invest in the UK give us a call (click here for contact details on our website) and we will put you in touch with the people you need to speak to.
While it's lovely here I'm afraid the weather here hasn't been so cooperative, and it doesn't help when I hear stories of 40 degree weather in Sydney. Off to Exeter this evening, my first time to this part of the South West – I wonder what's in store?
