2. Biz Network July/August 2021 37-64.qxp_Chamberlink 30/06/2021 11:39 Page 54
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Meeting the demands of post-Brexit trade Many importers and exporters are still coming to terms with customs changes resulting from the UK leaving the EU. With upskilling employees an important aspect of how companies respond, Business Network speaks to two businesses that have enrolled staff on the Chamber’s international trade training courses. STACIA ROWBOTHAM, EXPORT ADMINISTRATOR AT JOWITT ABRASIVES, BASED IN CHESTERFIELD What does your company do? Jowitt Abrasives is a specialist abrasive manufacturer of discs, segments and wheels for surface grinding, spring grinding and knife grinding. We employ 33 people and ship all over the UK and worldwide. How has the way you trade internationally changed since Brexit? Although we’ve maintained great working relationships with our EU customers, we’ve faced a lot of difficulties with the new rules postBrexit. The commercial invoices now require a lot more detail, such as EORI numbers and customs procedure codes, for EU trading. What have been the biggest challenges this has posed for your business? Like all exporters, we faced a lot of challenges at the beginning of the year when goods were stuck at the borders, which were closed. Once this was resolved, we faced even more challenges with the new rules and spent a lot of time at the beginning of the year streamlining our processes to ensure they met the rules and suited our customers. For example, the incoterms we were trading with no longer suited our EU customers, so we had to work closely with our freight forwarder to use a new incoterm that suited.
PETER MARTIN, INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER AT ROMPA, BASED IN CHESTERFIELD What does your company do? More than 30 years ago, Rompa was created to improve the quality of life of people of all ages and all abilities. Employing 50 people, we are now the globally-recognised market leader in designing and installing sensory rooms for hospitals, schools, care homes and domestic settings. What have been the biggest challenges Brexit has posed for your business? Export documentation and new customs procedures have been the biggest challenges we have faced so far. Fortunately, we were able to initiate the implementation of the necessary changes towards the end of 2020, which has allowed for the shipment of goods to reach their final destinations as planned with minimal delays. How have you responded to these challenges? We have responded by ensuring our documentation is correct and that everything is aligned for the safe import of goods into their final destination countries. Communication between our partners has been key as it has become evident that each EU country has different requirements and needs. We’ve invested in training our workforce so every division has a good understanding of the new changes and their implications. How has the Chamber supported you in your international trade training requirements? The Chamber has been our main training 54
business network July/August 2021
Rompa designs sensory rooms for a variety of settings and customers
provider for a variety of international trade courses and it has been instrumental in highlighting the changes we’ve needed to make to ensure minimal impact on our business and operations. We have been fully supported by the Chamber’s team and our questions have always been answered promptly. The training courses we completed are in customs declaration, export documentation and Incoterms 2020, while three of our colleagues completed an ITOPS course.
How have you responded to these challenges? We’ve spent time making sure we fully understand exactly what the new rules mean for both for our business and customers. We’ve been very proactive keeping up with any new changes and have been constantly updating the way we do things. How has the Chamber supported you in your international trade training requirements? The Chamber has supported us by answering any questions, no matter how big or small. It has consistently given us the best advice and advised us where funding was available. Because of this, I’ve been lucky enough to do my ITOPS, which I’m really enjoying.
Jowitt Abrasives is a specialist in grinding tools
