Pets fetch success for SME as a top exporter
The region’s top-ranked company is last year’s number one, naughtone. The Knaresboroughbased firm makes furniture for global clients including Facebook, Amazon and Google.
New showrooms in London and Chicago helped it more than double its exports to £9.2m in 2017.
The firm, which was ranked 22nd across the UK, employs 34 staff.
This year’s list of eight Yorkshirebased SMEs compares with six in the 2017 league table and includes five new entrants.
Together, the eight firms have boosted international sales by an average of 63% a year over two years to a total of £44m. Together, they employ 500 people.
Nationally, this year’s SME Export Track 100 achieved, on average, international sales growth of 80% a year over two years to a total of £744m.
Together they employ 7,900 staff, having added 2,700 jobs over the period.
The latest league table illustrates how British companies are increasingly looking beyond their traditional export markets for growth – with more than 82 selling to countries outside Europe and the US compared to 60 companies last year.
The vast majority (93) say future international growth will come from outside Europe.
Gareth Oakley, managing director SME banking at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “For businesses that take the leap to trade overseas, the rewards can be significant – the strong growth achieved by this year’s SME Export Track 100 is proof of that.
“At Lloyds Banking Group we are committed to helping businesses scale-up and trade internationally and have pledged to help 5,000 first-time exporters every year until 2020 in support of this.” SUPPLY chain and logistics consultancy has announced a senior appointment. Huddersfield-based SCALA has appointed Paul Bebbington, previously head of European distribution for Kelloggs, as a new senior consultant.
During his time at Kelloggs, he oversaw its distribution strategy across Europe and was responsible for managing teams and programmes across departments including cost and service improvement, logistics sourcing and network optimisation.
He also worked in the change management department and led the supply chain integration for Kellogg’s acquisition of Pringles.
Before joining SCALA, Mr Bebbington, pictured, worked for RIGHOUSE-based merchant services provider Yorkshire Payments has announced a 12-month partnership Huddersfield’s Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice.
The partnership will see Yorkshire Payments providing the children’s hospice with card payment solutions in its 10 retail stores across West Yorkshire.
The Bradley-based hospice approached Yorkshire Payments to update its payment systems in its 14 charity shops across the region. Yorkshire Payments will support the charity with its payment solutions as it expands in 2018, when it plans to open more stores throughout West Yorkshire and North Manchester.
Yorkshire Payments, founded in 2013 by managing director James Howard, supplies businesses and business owners with electronic payment services. It offers a variety of secure digital payment options from hand held terminals to online payment platforms.
The company is already a member of the hospice’s 99er Business Club, whereby the firm makes monthly donations to Forget Me Not, in order to help the charity to continue to provide its essential care to children with life-shortening illnesses.
Gareth Pierce, head of training at Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, said: “Working with Yorkshire Payments will allow us to make Forget Me Not’s retail stores much more accessible to customers.” two years with bio-pharma manufacturing firm Sanofi, where he was responsible for developing and implementing a change management programme covering areas such as enterprise resource planning and lean and integrated business planning programmes.
Mr Bebbibngton has an MBA from Manchester Business School, where he is also studying for a doctorate and is researching digital technologies and supply chain.
SCALA managing director John Perry said: “With so much currently changing within the world of supply chain, we’re confident that Paul can help our clients to address the vitally important challenges that the industry faces.”