Western Mail

Businesses on their first foray into trade with other countries

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made Zip-Clip the company it is today”.

BURNS PET NUTRITION

BASED in Kidwelly, and founded in 1993 by veterinary surgeon John Burns, Burns Pet Nutrition – the healthy pet food company – is in its 25th year of trading. The company makes food for dogs, cats and rabbits that is made using highqualit­y, natural ingredient­s with absolutely no nasties.

Mr Burns – who built the business himself and 25 years on is still at the helm – believes that feeding pets a healthy diet is the key to managing many common health problems. Today, Burns employs 130 staff in Kidwelly and its bases in other locations including Kilmarnock, Scotland.

The company began exporting in 1995 to Ireland and today exports worldwide to countries including Hong Kong, Singapore, Portugal and Greece, with profits hitting £3.9m in 2016.

This year, Burns Pet Nutrition was listed on The Sunday Times Profit 100 League Table for achieving some of the fastest-growing profits in the UK.

“We originally developed and expanded the business and began exporting to Ireland due to high demand.

“On a commercial level, we are still looking to expand our global presence,” explains Mr Burns.

“Next year, we plan to launch in the Netherland­s and Italy. We have an abundance of internatio­nal activities planned which will include exhibiting at ExpoZoo, IberZoo and Zoomark. It’s exciting times for us as a business.

“The benefits of exporting is the knowledge that we are reaching pets further afield and helping them to lead happier, healthier lives.”

ELMAC TECHNOLOGI­ES

BASED in Flintshire, Elmac Technologi­es manufactur­es flame and explosion protection devices that are used in some of the world’s most challengin­g environmen­ts, including oil refineries and offshore drilling rigs, petrochemi­cal plants and the bulk storage of hazardous liquids.

Elmac has been in existence for over 70 years, however it wasn’t until 2007 that the company decided to pursue a more aggressive internatio­nal expansion plan and started exporting its products overseas.

“The reality is that the UK market makes up less than 5% of the global potential, so the first thing we did was to hire an export manager, whose role it was to explore

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