6 minute read
Driving Innovation In Export
WRIGHTBUS
Catriona Henry (NI Chamber), Neil Collins (Wrightbus) and Graeme MacLaughlin (Barclays).
Driving Innovation in Export
Exporting is central to the resilience and growth of the UK manufacturing sector and here in Northern Ireland, the prize is sizeable. Barclays’ Corporate Report, The Export Dividend, reveals that 75% of non-exporting manufacturers plan to start in 2022; and by 2030, export sales could be worth £6.4bn per year to Northern Ireland, an annual increase of £354m over current levels.
FUELLING EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES
Ballymena-based Wrightbus is poised to explore new markets with its range of zero-emissions buses including the worldfirst hydrogen-powered, zero-emissions double-decker bus, the Hydroliner, launched at the end of 2020.
With its remarkable innovation, the timing couldn’t have been better for Wrightbus. The launch came just ahead of the G7 conference, with governments around the world seeking novel ways to reach ambitious zero emissions targets.
Neil Collins, managing director of Wrightbus, said, “Sustainable mass transport is a way to reduce a lot of people’s carbon footprint very quickly. Given what we’ve invested in research and development, we have a huge global opportunity.
“Our range of zero-emissions buses has dramatically shifted our product focus in just one year. In 2021, diesel buses made up 70% of our orders; now 70% of our order book is for the new zero-emission models.
“Our current revenue profile is roughly 70% UK and 30% export markets. Of this, the Republic of Ireland is around half. We see major export opportunities in the next five years across Europe and we have a factory in Malaysia which will allow us to supply customers in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.”
DATA INTELLIGENCE IS KEY
“The biggest challenge in export is in making the right market selections. Our export strategy is governed heavily by data.
“We take information from a lot of sources. We’ll look at the size and age of a market’s bus fleet and – critically – the aims of the country or region’s government to ‘green the fleet’, which varies vastly from country to country.
“We also pay close attention to regional tendering and procurement processes. We employ people across Europe who are highly skilled in tech and engineering. We talk to industry bodies and local operators who are not direct competitors. We also use agencies like Invest NI and others, and we can avail of useful market insights from our bankers at Barclays.
“In the wider picture, we also consider who supplies the fuel in those countries as this is a key consideration for our innovation. Germany, for example, is well ahead on this, with a number of major hydrogen hubs.”
SKILLS AND INNOVATION
“Skills are essential to our export success. We’ve grown from 58 employees in 2019 to almost 800 today. The move to zero emissions is the biggest change in transportation in 75 years; it’s a shift from mechanical engineering and combustion, to handling gas and hydrogen power. We’re manufacturing one of the most complex pieces of kit on the island of Ireland.
“The innovation is all driven here in Ballymena. We have a very large engineering team with around 90 people in our R&D team and we fund 35 research posts at Queen’s University.
“We’re also really pleased that Mid & East Antrim Council has seized the opportunity to invent the ‘cleantech’ belt, with Ballymena now home to a Hydrogen Academy and the IC4 Centre for renewables and clean technology.”
Not Just About the Core Product
“Export is not just about selling and shipping the core product. For us, the infrastructure is essential, and we have a sister company, RYZE Hydrogen, focused on the transport and distribution of hydrogen fuel.
“We also have a heavy focus on parts, aftercare and servicing to keep our buses on the road. We’ve developed a very sophisticated telematics system to predict any tech or mechanical issues. This technology has a broad market opportunity and in due course should create job opportunities in software engineering, electronic engineering and data analysis.”
SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES
“Like most manufacturers, the supply chain in the last couple of years has been a challenge, particularly things like chips and the cost of shipping. Commodity cost rises have put pressure on the price of steel and aluminium, and lithium and cobalt, used for battery cells, have gone up, although we’re pleased the cost of hydrogen cells is coming down. Things are hopefully starting to level out.”
EXPORT FUNDING SUPPORT
“We availed of Trade Finance support from Barclays in the form of bonds and guarantees. This delivered confidence for a major customer with whom we were negotiating a very large contract. We are also exploring how other support, such as the UK Export Finance schemes, can be used to help finance build programmes. “There’s no doubt that having Barclays’ support helped us to secure contracts which are significant in value. We have a very open relationship with them and they do everything in their power to assist us.”
GETTING STARTED IN EXPORT
Neil Collins’ three pieces of advice to any business getting started in exporting are:
• Gather as much market data as possible; use all possible resources and networks you can. • Think about how you can dip your toe in a new market to gain a quick win, without over-exposing your business to risk. • Don’t stop with the core product; think about support after sales and the whole ecosystem your product relies on.
Sector Club
NI Chamber and Barclays recently hosted a Sector Club event for those working in the manufacturing sector. Neil Collins, Managing Director at Wrightbus shared the company’s impressive growth story and discussed key learnings and challenges associated with growing a manufacturing firm in Northern Ireland. Lee Collinson, Managing Director and Head of Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics at Barclays also gave an insight into opportunities for manufacturing companies to grow through exporting.
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