Conditioned to succeed

Computair, based in Luton Road, Toddington, write programs used in buildings and applications as diverse as supermarket distribution centres to hotel bars.

MD Nigel Taffs puts much of the company’s export success down to the help available from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

Mr Taffs said: “Basically we didn’t realise that there was help available. The way we found out about UKTI was that my business partner Ray Nottage read an article about them and got in touch. They have been extremely helpful and really useful ever since.”

Computair, founded in 1980, employs 16 staff and has doubled its turnover to £1m in the last decade. It exports 95 per cent of what it makes.

Computair’s programs enable manufacturers to design air conditioning units, ventilation and heating systems, and walk-in cold rooms for food and medical and scientific supplies.

Computair uses several different services from UKTI. It has made big inroads into the huge American market with the help of the Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS), which provides expert advice and support from embassies and trade teams worldwide.

The Tradeshow Access Programme provides grants for small and medium-sized enterprises like Computair to attend important trade fairs abroad.

And UKTI’s Export Marketing Research Scheme backed a project in Australia that led to orders for the company.

In Turkey, the OMIS service helped Computair overcome a serious language problem.

Nigel said: “We knew there was a market there but we could not actually get past any telephonists because they did not speak English. So, through UKTI, we gave our Embassy in Ankara a load of leads and they found out if they were viable and who to talk to. They set up meetings, organised my itineraries, and I got to see the bosses – who did speak English – and we got orders.”

UKTI international trade adviser Anton Rudgalvis has seen Computair expand.

He said: “This is the perfect example of how we work with companies over a period of time and how we help them grow in the international marketplace.

“The example of the work undertaken by the British Embassy in Turkey outlines just how much in-market assistance is available and when we work with companies like Computair, we have exactly the same goal – to help secure orders.”

> For more information on UKTI, visit www.ukti.gov.uk or phone 020 7215 8000.