For the Welsh economy to thrive it needs more firms winning orders for their products and services overseas.
And here we feature 23 Welsh export champions that are doing just that by driving impressive growth in overseas markets ranging from food and drink to fintech and manufacturing.
The list appears in alphabetical order.
ACAI Outdoorwear
Headquartered Flintshire, ACAI Outdoorwear is the UK’s first and only women’s outdoor wear brand.
It was founded in 2016 by Kasia Bromley and has since seen exceptional growth doubling revenue each year since it began and growing its staff to 25 over the last three years.
The company is now looking to accelerate its plans to grow internationally after securing £3m from consumer-focused investment firm Growth Partner, which has taken a minority stake in the business.
Aforza
Cloud-based solutions software firm Aforza is opening a new base in Dubai early this year following a surge in demand for its services in the Middle East.
Since it was first set up over three years ago, Cardiff-based Aforza has made a global name for itself, with exports accounting for over 75% of trade and the company operating in 26 countries across four continents, including North America, Europe, and Africa.
The news comes as the company celebrates a key milestone; in December it was revealed that over $1bn of sales orders have been transacted through Aforza’s platform.
Air Covers
Wrexham based design and engineering company Air Covers has just landed a deal to become an exclusive supplier for aerospace giant, Airbus.
The company, which specialises in designing and manufacturing protective covers for both civil and military aircraft, boats and vehicles, has been selected as the custom protection cover supplier for Airbus’ newly launched H145D3 helicopter.
Exports currently account for 65% of Air Cover’s trade, but the company aims to reach 75% by 2024 by growing its international portfolio and expanding in key growth markets like North America and Australia.
Au Vodka
Swansea-based Au Vodka has experienced skyrocketing revenue and profit growth since it launched in 2016.
The brand, underpinned by excellent marketing, use of social media, and celebrity product endorsement, has enjoyed huge international expansion.
The bottles are sold in 40 countries, from Spain to Australia, and most recently, 32 states across the US. The company is looking for continued trading success in 2023 as it moves from a promising start-up to a thriving mid-sized business.
Avantis Marine
Bridgend-based technology service provider for the marine sector, Avantis chiefly exports to North America, Europe and the Far East but has recently expanded into the UAW to service industrial growth in the Middle East.
Its proportion of revenue as export is 90% for 2022, and the firm forecasts the same for 2023.
Working capital Avantis secured from the Development Bank of Wales and HSBC will now be used to support its growth plans, centred around decarbonising the marine, oil and gas industry.
Burns Pet Nutrition
Wales' biggest pet food business, Burns Pet Nutrition's exports make up around 15% of the business after expanding its exports throughout 2021 and 2022.
The company, which is headquartered in Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, is a leading brand in the Irish market. But it also prioritises Asian and Middle Eastern markets as an export strategy due to the popularity of UK pet food brands in these regions.
The firm is now looking to grow within the South East Asia market in the future.
Calon Wen
Calon Wen is a co-operative of organic family farms across Wales. As well as becoming a leading brand in Wales, the business exports to markets in Japan, Hong Kong, UAE and Qatar.
It supplies its products to major stores like Aeon (Japan), Choithrams (UAE), Lulu and Monoprix (Qatar). While exports currently make up around 10% of its £3m turnover, Calon Wen has a target for 2023/24 to grow exports to 20% of its turnover.
The brand attended Gulfood, the largest annual food show in the world and is heading to the Foodex trade event in Japan as part of a Welsh Government delegation.
CatSci
CatSci develops drug manufacturing processes that enable its global pharmaceutical customers to create affordable small molecule therapeutics to address critical public health challenges, such as cancer.
The Cardiff firm is now looking to enhance its global capabilities after securing investment from European growth buyout investor Keensight Capital.
The funding will be used to help the firm grow and expand its workforce, laboratories and equipment.
Character.com
Swansea-based global online retailer of children’s licensed clothing and accessories Character.com is focused on further expansion.
Founded in 2009 by husband-and-wife team Stephen and Karen Hewitt, Character.com has seen its revenues grow from less than £10m four years ago to more than £50m.
It recently secured a multi-million-pound equity investment boost from the Business Growth Fund to support the next phase of its expansion and growing its customer base across Europe and North America.
Eakin Surgical
Eakin Surgical, a Cardiff-based medical device manufacturer, has expanded its business into the Middle East for the first time, opening up a new territory for the company who already operate in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
The company, which produces high-quality, single-use surgical instruments, set its sights on entering the Middle Eastern market, and after attending the Arab Health exhibition in Dubai as part of a Welsh Government trade mission, the company has now appointed a new distributor in the region.
The deal will see Eakin Surgical’s products sold across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.
Energist
Energist, located in Swansea, is a medical equipment manufacturer for the global medical aesthetic marketplace and is the leading provider of nitrogen plasma technology, NeoGen Plasma.
The business currently distributes NeoGen to markets in North America and Asia but it is now looking to grow further in America as well as the UK. It said its exports sales were around 80% last year for the business.
FSG Tool & Die
FSG Tool & Die, based in Llantrisant, is the largest, privately-owned design and build toolmaking company in Europe. The company has built a successful international reputation supplying markets in Europe, Asia and the US.
Currently, the company's exports make up between 30% to 35% of its turnover, though future growth projection for exports is set to rise to around 40-45% of turnover.
Global Attractions
Global Attractions, a designer, manufacturer and distributor of family entertainment units, recently secured an international contracts to build and export soft play centres to shopping malls in Pattaya City and Bangkok.
It builds on projects delivered for global businesses for over 25 years including McDonald’s, IKEA, KFC and Ferrari World Abu Dhabi – all from its base in Wrexham.
The company is now capitalising on this success by securing another deal to supply a soft-play centre to be shipped and installed in Bangkok, with backing from UK Export Finance.
Jones Village Bakery
Jones Village Baker in Wrexham supplies its baked goods to M&S franchised stores around the world including in Hong Kong, Singapore, the Middle East and India, as well as Europe. It has a similar arrangement with Waitrose stores in the Middle East and has also landed a contract to supply bakery products to a large German retailer.
Strategically, the fast-growing business has taken on a senior national account manager, fluent in French and German, whose role will be to actively pursue those markets. The bakery expects to more than triple its exports in the next year and see overseas sales increase from £1.5m to £5m in 2023.
Lion Laboratories
Barry-based Lion Laboratories, which created the world's first electronic breathalyser, has its products widely used by police forces all over the world including those in Denmark, Malaysia, Thailand, Oman, Switzerland, Namibia, and Australia.
International sales currently account for 70% of Lion Laboratories’ trade and its drive on securing new overseas contracts is part of wider plans to grow its export business back to pre-pandemic levels of 85%.
Last year it was boosted with a major export win with Finish government.
Mabli Knits
Lisa Roberts started Mabli Knits in 2016 from her front room. Fast-forward seven years and the business, which specialises in natural knitwear for children, has built a global customer base.
The business’ overseas orders account for 50% of turnover and it has seen strong growth in the USA and Japan as post-Brexit shipping costs impact European orders.
Last year, the Cardiff-headquartered business acquired a 2300 sq ft unit at Riverbridge Business Park after securing £220,000 from Barclays to expand and accommodate growing demand.
Makefast
Makefast, the Powys-based marine equipment manufacturer which designs systems for luxury boats, is on track to significantly grow its exports with the opening of a dedicated base in the USA following a surge in demand for its products.
Demand in the US increased by 40% during the pandemic as American boat builders sought to keep up with increased demand from customers who were travelling less and spending more money on luxury items.
International sales currently account for 67% of Makefast’s trade, with the company exporting to over thirty countries, including Italy, France, Brazil, Taiwan, and the USA.
Mallows Beauty
Cardiff-based beauty brand Mallows Beauty has landed its first deal in the US, a first step in a wider export strategy aimed at significantly growing its global presence. The company has signed a contract to supply Urban Outfitters stores in the US thanks to Welsh Government support.
Alongside the Urban Outfitters partnership, Mallows is also working on a deal to open it up to thousands of independent retailers across the US. Additionally, it is also eyeing up expansion in Australia and is set to launch its products with leading online retailer, Glam Raider.
My Salah Mat
My Salah Mat is the Newport-based firm behind innovative prayer mats designed to help children and adults learn how to perform Salah – the daily prayer practiced by Muslims.
Since it was set up four years ago, the business has made a global name for its one-of-a-kind mats and has developed an extensive international portfolio, with products now sold in over 25 countries.
The company has seen sales rise by 15% in the Middle East over the last three years after its children’s mat went viral across social media, leading to it securing deals with major international retailers including Virgin Megastores in the UAE and Dabdoob, one of the largest kids’ retailers in Kuwait.
TestLodge
Penarth-based software testing platform TestLodge has experienced an impressive 80% over the last five year driven by its export activities.
The business has customers in 62 different countries, with the US making up almost 50% of its total users. It recently developed an ACH (automated clearing house) payment system to allow direct debits from the US which will make it easier for more users to come on board.
Based on its content marketing efforts targeting the software testing industry, it is predicting US growth to be even greater in the next financial year.
Trigwell Cosmetics
Started by Welsh makeup artist Zoe Trigwell during the pandemic, Trigwell Cosmetics’ powder puffs have become a global makeup sensation after the beauty product went viral on TikTok and was recommended by the likes of US music star Lizzo’s makeup artist.
The 29-year-old from Cwmbran has seen her sales skyrocket, fulfilling thousands of orders across the UK and internationally. She is now on track to turnover £1m this year.
Tubex
Aberdare manufacturer of protective shelters for young trees globally, Tubex, is focused on a new phase of expansion.
The business, which exports just under half of its shelters, is also playing a key role in supporting firms to offset emissions with tree planting.
Internationally its largest markets include Germany, Spain, and France .
Veeqo
Swansea-based Veeqo has a global client base for its e-commerce tech platform that helps retailers, including Amazon, sync their inventory and fulfil customer orders.
Following its acquisition by Amazon, Veeqo’s services have been made available for free to all 85,000 SMEs selling on Amazon in the UK, as well as the nearly 500,000 sellers based in the US.
Its technology is enabling Welsh SMES to reach and grow customers across the global, such as Neath-based beauty products and wellness firm Naissance.
Yoello
The disruptive payments platform of Cardiff-based fintech firm Yoello, adopted in the US, Australia, Canada and across Europe, is used by thousands of restaurants and hospitality venues.
The company is rapidly entering new markets with exporting accounting for around 80% of its sales.
Its chief executive and founder Sina Yamani is also an export champion for the UK Government.
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