In a couple of weeks’ time, I have the great pleasure of taking part in the ‘Exporting from Britain’ panel session at the EEF’s National Manufacturing Conference.
Manufacturing exports was at the heart of a former incarnation, as CEO of Biocompatibles International, where we produced and sold £30 million worth of medical devices in more than 40 countries. And, now at UKTI , both continue to be priorities of mine.
The conference comes at a time of economic optimism – something in short supply in recent years. It also comes at an exciting time for UKTI with the recent arrival of Lord Livingston, the new Minister for Trade and Investment.
The Prime Minister launched Britain Open for Business: The Next Phase at Davos on 24 January. This updates UKTI’s five-year strategy, which will build on our successes and focus on new priorities, setting out plans to provide practical support to exporters and inward investors over the next two years.
UKTI will also embark on a targeted campaign to raise awareness of the support it can provide to small and medium-sized businesses (MSBs). The UK’s 8,900 MSBs are vital to the government’s long-term economic plan. Evidence shows that exporters do better with UKTI’s help and on average MSBs can increase their sales by £1.8m.
If MSBs reach their full potential, the CBI estimates that it could be worth £20 to £50bn to theUKeconomy. Lord Livingston will personally write to all MSBs by the summer to ask if they would like trade support from UKTI.
Another area I’d like to highlight is Reshore UK. UKTI has joined forces with the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) to launch Reshore UK, a new one-stop-shop service to help companies bring production back to the UK.
Reshore UK will provide a matching and location service, access to advice and support and a named individual to help each company. MAS’ role is to help support small and medium-sized firms to be globally competitive and to ensure there is capacity in the UK supply chain to take advantage of re-shore opportunities.
Finally, I’d like to outline the important role of UK Export Finance (UKEF). UKEF has a particular interest in helping more of the UK’s small and mid-sized companies to export. Over the past few years, a new suite of products has been launched. And a new network of advisers across the UK has recently been doubled, to help improve small and mid-sized firms’ knowledge of, and access to, trade finance.
There is still much to be done to support UK manufacturers win business overseas. That’s why we will continue to build on our achievements and focus on new priorities. I look forward to furthering the discussion at the National Manufacturing Conference.