Clean air company breezes into overseas markets

In today’s climate of ‘clean and green’ consciousness we all know that poor indoor air quality can aggravate everything from building fabrics, to health problems such as asthma.  Finding effective solutions for avoiding condensation and black mould which damage our homes – as well as poor air circulation which damages our health – has become the mission of one North Yorkshire based company.

EnviroVent Ltd in Harrogate has been dedicated to the problem of domestic ventilation since 1987 and today the company produces a range of ventilation solutions which are energy efficient and environmentally friendly.  All products, which are designed and manufactured in Yorkshire, are created to last the lifetime of the building where they are installed by the company’s own qualified operatives.

With significant growth in UK sales, the company is now using some of UK Trade & Investment’s strategic export services to launch its range of domestic ventilation systems globally.

Nick Heaton, managing director, said: “It’s been very useful having access to these export services so close to home. The package of advice and support from UKTI including the Passport to Export programme really makes a difference. In particular we’ve made good use of some of their research services such as Market Screening which helped us to target a number of countries where our ventilation systems could have potential. The Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) takes the market screening process a step further by focusing on one country and providing a business report tailored to your company and its products. The report comes complete with some useful business contacts giving you a strong starting point. An OMIS report we commissioned on Denmark, for instance, has been key to our export plans for Scandinavia.”

UKTI’s Peter Tweddle, based at the Business Link in York, has been working in partnership with EnviroVent to ensure that they make the most of the export resources available locally as well as overseas.

Said Tweddle: “As an international trade adviser based in Yorkshire I help local companies such as EnviroVent develop export marketing strategies. I also provide the link to UK Trade & Investment’s services in over 80 of the most popular markets worldwide through the Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS). OMIS reports are compiled by our UKTI colleagues based in the embassies and consulates overseas and they provide our Yorkshire companies with up-to-the-minute market information and warmed buyer contacts for the target country. This gave EnviroVent a head-start in planning their overseas strategy, allowing them to quickly assess the business opportunities in a particular country and to follow up the recommendations and buyer contacts.”

Participating in the Passport to Export programme meant that EnviroVent also benefitted from UKTI’s marketing expertise, including the Export Communication Review. This service assists companies to improve the way they communicate and market themselves, taking account of such aspects as corporate image, marketing tools, handling enquiries, website internationalisation and overseas business culture.  

Added Heaton: “We worked closely with UKTI’s Mary Cousins to examine ways of improving our marketing communication tools in order to raise our international profile. Working from within a company the Export Communication Review is aimed at capturing an international audience.”

EnviroVent is already netting sales across Europe but more recently the company joined a UKTI visit to Hong Kong, where along with other environmental companies from Yorkshire they were able to explore business opportunities further afield.

Said Heaton: “The Hong Kong trip was a week of intense business and cultural orientation for both Andy Makin, our sales director, and myself. Our objectives were met as we established contacts with potential sales distribution and manufacturing partners while there. We also met colleagues from the UK environmental sector who helped broaden our knowledge, shared their experience of the market, and were great company!  We are now having ongoing discussions with a Hong Kong/UK based company to determine whether we can integrate our technologies to mutual benefit for Hong Kong and beyond.”        

Website: www.envirovent.com