Home / Interview with Alastair Gardner
Project part-financed by the European Union
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) regional sector specialist for chemicals, biotechnology and environmental technologies
Can you give an overview of the specialist areas of international business in which you are involved?
I work with companies in the chemicals, bioscience and environmental technologies sectors. My work is primarily with regional SMEs though I do work closely with universities and centres of industrial collaboration. I collaborate with Yorkshire Forward’s Cluster Teams and Innovation Team. I also maintain close ties with cluster organisations such as Bioscience York and Yorkshire Chemicals Focus
Are these sectors particularly important to the Yorkshire and Humber region?
Each of the sectors are key to the region’s economy, but for hugely differing reasons. The chemicals industry is seen as a very traditional industry, but in fact is a sector which is growing at a rate faster than GDP (gross domestic product). The chemicals industry to a large extent underpins the UK’s manufacturing industry, producing the specialist products without which modern life would be impossible. It also impacts hugely in our personal lives. Innovation, both in new products and new manufacturing processes, especially green manufacturing, will keep the industry at the forefront of UK manufacturing.
In Yorkshire & the Humber we have more than 400 companies employing 20,000 people directly, with a combined turnover of £6.5billion annually. It is estimated that 55% of the products made in the region are exported.
Environmental technologies pervade all economic activities and sectors, where they cut costs and improve competitiveness by reducing energy and resource consumption and so creating less emissions and waste. Initial mapping of the cluster in the region has identified a core of:
Companies in the region are involved in activities as diverse as waste management and renewable energy technologies.
I am currently focussing on the water and wastewater sector, where UKTI, in partnership with the Environment Sector Group in Yorkshire Forward have helped to set up an industry network called www.waterindustryforum.com. Companies are invited to register on the website, and will be kept up to date with events, news and changes to the industry. There are currently around 60 companies registered and we are hoping to continue the recruitment process in coming months.
Biotechnology has been given national priority by the UK Government and here in Yorkshire biotech is a small but growing sector which cuts across many other sectors, including chemicals and environmental technologies. Many companies are very young, having spun out from the region’s universities and are interested in international markets from a very early stage.
Across all sectors, have any particular products stood out in terms of recent significant growth?
One of the most interesting “products” to emerge in recent times is actually one which cuts across all three of the sectors I am interested in – renewable energies. One of the key challenges in the future is to generate energy from renewable sources. This can take the form of co-firing biomass in power stations, the use of wind, tidal or solar energies, or the production of biofuels, to replace fossil fuels in vehicle engines. There is a further challenge in utilising the by-products of biofuel production, which will eventually lead to chemical feedstocks being produced from plant sources rather than fossil fuel.
Are there any particular countries that you seem to deal with more often than others?
Again this varies from sector to sector, though USA is always popular. For the water sector, Eastern Europe – especially the new EU states – are important as they will have to bring their water treatment facilities up to EU standards.
Could you give us a brief indication of your background and experience in this sector?
I began my career as a product and process engineer with DuPont Printing and Publishing in Leeds. I was fortunate to have been able to work on a number of technology transfer projects that allowed me to travel to the USA and China to commission product in these markets. I then moved to China, where I helped to set up the production and quality control functions within a Chinese-owned printing supplies manufacturer. It was there that I gained an insight into Chinese business culture and the differences between China and the UK. When I returned to the UK I joined China-Britain Business Council, setting up their first regional office in North East England. I joined UKTI in 2004.
In what ways can you assist Yorkshire and Humber companies in this sector?
I work with clients through UKTI programs such as Passport to Export, TESS (Targeted Export Support Scheme) etc, in common with the rest of the team in the region. Where my role differs is that I also work with sector teams within UKTI to promote regional capabilities within sectors and to try to raise the profile of companies within the sector. I also work closely with the equivalent teams in Yorkshire Forward towards the same aims.
More recently I have started a project to assist companies who have R&D and product innovation at the heart of their international growth strategy. This project is being run in line with both UKTI strategy and Yorkshire Forward’s Innovation Strategy and is designed to assist the region’s research community in generating sales or extra research funding into the region’s economy. The project is at a very early stage so watch this space for some case studies in the coming months.
