The manufacturer of Plymouth’s famous Trunki ride-on suitcase has teamed up with logistics firm Europa in a move to solve its post-Brexit problems exporting to Europe.
Magmatic Ltd, which is Bristol headquartered but makes the famous Trunki products at its Plymouth factory, has signed up with the specialist delivery duty paid (DDP) Europa Flow service in a bid to stop its products being held up by Brexit bureaucracy.
The company, founded by entrepreneur Rob Law who famously turned down investment on TV’s Dragons’ Den, has had its children’s suitcases “stuck at ports” due to regulations and border requirements and was looking at costly options such as setting up a European division to tackle the problem.
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But it is now targeting more European sales and is confident it can export to Europe without glitches and hold-ups and move goods seamlessly across the Continent after working with Europa.
Europa, which has a base in Bristol, launched Europa Flow in 2021 in response to the UK’s departure from the European Union (EU).
The service takes care of customs declarations and duties before shipments arrive at European ports, so import VAT doesn’t need to be paid on arrival and deliveries aren’t hindered.
Magmatic Ltd, also known as Magma Moulding and trades as Trunki, has manufactured in Plymouth on the Kestrel Park Industrial Estate since 2012 when production returned to the UK, but said it has “experienced frustrations” with post-Brexit exports to the EU.
In the first half of 2021, the global business was using other carriers to move goods to Europe but these “continued to get stuck at ports because transporters lacked understanding of the new Brexit regulations and border requirements”.
Philip Prophett, warehouse manager at Magma Moulding in Plymouth, said: “These transit delays were immensely challenging, so we began to explore alternative solutions.
“These included using European storage facilities and creating a European division of the company, both of which had huge cost implications, making them unviable.
“We had worked with Europa in the past, and received a call last summer from the firm, informing us about Europa Flow. It could not have been timelier, because we had really been struggling to find the right solution to meet our export needs.
“From that point on, the situation improved dramatically; we were able to increase our volumes and get our European growth projections back on track.
“Europa Flow gave us the confidence to expand our customer base on the continent once again, because we knew we could get our products there without any glitches.”
He added: “Trunki very much sees Europa Flow as a partner, not just supplier, to the brand. Time is invested in understanding our processes, lead times, and relationships with key marketplace platforms such as Amazon. This partnership approach is of immense value to our business.”
Parliament’s spending watchdog has recently reported that Brexit has negatively impacted on UK trading levels, causing an increase in costs, paperwork and border delays.
Since launching in 2021, Europa Flow has seen a 101% increase in the number of jobs going through the books.
In January 2021, Europa Flow transactions were averaging about 4,000 per month. From that point onwards, as customer confidence grew, volumes increased rapidly.
By the end of January 2022, the average monthly transactions had more than doubled, meaning that by the end of the first 12 months, Europa Flow had dispatched more than 100,000 consignments.
Europa Flow has also delivered across 24 EU countries and exported goods worth a total value of £1bn. Each month, Europa Flow has also generated a total of £1.8m duty deferred and created an estimated £14.28m in VAT zero rated processes for its customers. Europa Flow offers anticipated goods declarations, meaning consignments can be collected and exported on the same day. This appeals to customers of UK exporters because it means the whole process of appointing a customs broker, completing import declarations, and paying import duties is already taken care of.
Adrian Redmile, sales and branch network director at Europa, said: “As a business, we have never shied away from the challenge of Brexit. Europa Flow has been about staying one step ahead of the game, future-proofing our own business as well as those of our customers. The product has been instrumental in enabling our clients to remain operational and resilient in the face of economic shocks. We are very proud of what Europa Flow has already achieved and how it is leading the logistics industry by example as we enter a new era of supply chain interactions.”
