02 Dec ievo Signs First US Distributor on UKTI Trip Overseas
North East of England based biometric manufacturer, ievo ltd took the opportunity to join UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) on its recent Market Visit to the USA combining UKTI activities with a business meeting in Mexico with one of the biggest security distributors in the region.
ievo managing director, Shaun Oakes, was contacted by UKTI Lead International Trade Adviser Simon Crosby to join the Market Visit to Los Angeles in October 2013. The trip was marked by two events organised by UKTI, a presentation on conducting business in the US and a reception held by ex-pat lawyers on different legislation and best practice for US markets and industries.
After the trip, Shaun Oakes commented: “With the recent ievo rebrand and launch we are now driving up biometric security interest in export markets outside of the UK where we have experienced a 100% growth rate year on year. As we now want to expand ievo into global markets taking this trip with the UKTI aided the shift from the UK to understanding export legislation and business practice.”
Shaun Oakes combined the trip with a visit to Mexico to sign a distributor contract with Siasa, one of Mexico’s largest biometric distributors. He explained: “The Mexican market is prime for our biometric product because of the high growth they are currently experiencing due to the free trade agreements with the UK and EU. This means that for access control, there are fewer issues regarding data protection legislation.”
Simon Crosby added: “The UK has strong links with the USA and with so much in common it’s an important market for us, offering plenty of opportunities for North East firms to do business.
“We’re delighted to have been able to support ievo and hope its success will inspire others to follow in its footsteps. UKTI is committed to helping companies realise their global potential and earlier this month almost 680 delegates took part in Export Week events across the North East.
“We will continue to build on that success with the help of our new ‘Exporting is GREAT’ campaign that will be targeting almost three million people nationally to generate 3,000 appointments with UKTI’s International Trade Advisers (ITAs) and drive £1.2bn in export revenue. And with businesses earning £100,000 on average in additional sales within 18 months of working with UKTI, there is a significant incentive for firms to contact us.”