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Xtralite

The sky's the limit for Blyth-based Xtralite since it moved into new overseas markets, thanks to the company's international communication strategies.

The sky's the limit for Blyth-based Xtralite since it moved into new overseas markets, thanks to the company's international communication strategies.

Xtralite employs 62 people and has been manufacturing in North East England for ten years. Yet the company is relatively new to exporting and first ventured into overseas markets in late 2003. Having conquered Hong Kong and the Middle East, Xtralite is now looking towards Thailand and Singapore. With export turnover approaching £0.25 million in its first year, the company is looking forward to a bright new future.

Bob Tweedy Managing Director

In addition to UK projects such as St James' Park, Newcastle, and the London Millennium Dome, some of its main export successes include Disney World in Hong Kong, Formula One stands in Bahrain, and Ford's biggest showroom outside the US, in Dubai.

And the success Xtralite is experiencing in these new markets is down to its uncompromising commitment to international communications.

Export Manager Gordon Hall says: "We pride ourselves on our high performance products, their excellent design and quality and our dedication to using environmentally friendly materials. But all that is no good if our overseas clients can't understand us."

With a clear realisation that maximising their opportunities meant developing international communication strategies, Xtralite deployed a rolling programme of techniques, all with the clear aim of reaching those key overseas contacts in their own language.

The company appointed agents in China and Thailand before embarking on the development of key international skills among its personnel. This included coaching in Thai for key staff, particularly in preparation for exhibitions in the country. Even though the proximity of the event meant staff could only get to grips with the fundamentals, the company knew that even basic Thai vocabulary would impress their contacts.

But it's not just on a verbal level that Xtralite is looking to communicate with overseas customers. The company's integrated approach to international communication means that brochures and sales literature have been translated, and there is an ongoing project to translate its website into Thai, Chinese and Arabic.

In fact, so seriously does Xtralite take the need for targeted international communication that it is considering developing an export department which would include the specific recruitment of staff with language skills.

Xtralite has invested more than £25,000 on developing its export business. Having gained substantial financial support for these programmes through the RLN North East's ERDF-backed funding, the company has been able to use a proportion of this to spend directly on improving communications in its new markets.

The company's commitment to international communication will help win key orders in Thailand and other target markets. Xtralite has invested around £4,160, and has been able to access almost £1,500 in assistance through the Regional Language Network North East.

The initial issue was the urgent need for Xtralite staff to gain some level of proficiency in the Thai language, to enable them to communicate with their Thai contacts and potential new customers at an exhibition in Thailand. The financial investment made in their language coaching has secured the entire workforce, as well as opening up the probability of gaining new orders in a new market for Xtralite.

And it's an investment, Gordon says, that is vital to success overseas. "The RLN has helped us to develop communication strategies for our new markets that go towards ensuring that our investments there will reap real dividends."

And Zélie Guérin, Manager of the Regional Language Network, agrees: "Xtralite is a perfect example of how businesses can benefit from targeting customers in their own language. With a small investment on their part, Xtralite has been able to specifically target and engage with the customers it wants."