A multi-award wining Huddersfield company is backing a drive to boost UK exports to Latin America.
Paxman Coolers, based at Fenay Bridge, is urging other firms to exploit a booming export market in Latin America – which is forecast to reach £14.2bn by 2021.
The firm, which provides scalp cooling systems to help prevent hair loss in people receiving cancer treatment, already trades in Brazil and Venezuela and is expanding into Argentina.
Now it is backing a major UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) initiative to strengthen overseas business with those countries and others across Latin American countries, including Colombia, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.
The UK currently exports goods and services worth an estimated £4.6bn to Latin America, but Government forecasts show that market to grow in value to £14.2bn over the next five years - thanks to key factors including political change, stabilising
and liberalised economies, structural reforms, major investment in infrastructure and natural resources, trade and taxation agreements and the restoration of diplomatic ties between Cuba and the USA.
Oil and gas, mining, healthcare, education, airports, financial services, waste and water management, shipyards and shipbuilding are among the sectors offering trade opportunities to firms in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Last year, total exports from Yorkshire and Humber businesses to Latin America rose by 22% in value from £104.8m to £127.8m.
The focus on Latin America is a key part of Exporting is GREAT, the Government initiative to inspire and support another 100,000 UK businesses to trade overseas by 2020.
Paxman Coolers began its journey to supply Brazil in 2009 at medical sector show Medica in Dusseldorf when an introduction was made through its UKTI life sciences international trade adviser to EPTCA, the firm’s current partner in Brazil.
Supported by Medilink Yorkshire and Humber and UKTI, Paxman Coolers joined a UK delegation to Brazil in 2010, showcasing its pioneering scalp cooling device at Hospitalar, the largest medical exhibition in Latin America.
Richard Paxman, chief executive Paxman Coolers, said: “We were keen to use this platform to establish links with potential business partners, enabling us to expand on our already buoyant overseas market.
“Thanks to the valuable support of the life sciences team at UKTI, visits to EPTCA’s offices in Rio de Janeiro and following a lengthy regulatory process to gain ANVISA approval, cancer patients in Brazil are now able to retain their hair during chemotherapy treatment.”
Mr Paxman said the number of scalp cooling installations throughout Brazil continued to grow and now included the prestigious Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo.
Through EPTCA, Paxman now boasts an exclusive deal with the largest private oncology clinic chain in Brazil which is rolling out scalp cooling treatment across all of its sites over the coming three years.
The firm has had a distributor in Venezuela since 2010 and continues to grow throughout Latin America having recently appointed a distributor for Argentina.
Mark Robson, regional director for UKTI Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “Latin America is a region of some 500m people, rich in natural resources and growing middle-income opportunities that drive greater and more diverse consumption.
“British companies such as Paxman Coolers that operate successfully in these markets have a deserved reputation for delivering high-quality goods and services via strong business partnerships with local companies to their mutual advantage.
“The level of two-way trade and investment does not however, adequately reflect the true potential for business between the UK and Latin America so we want to encourage yet more Yorkshire and the Humber businesses to exploit what is a burgeoning market offering excellent opportunities across a wide range of sectors.”
The UKTI Latin America initiative is supported by series of roadshows. Go to http://latamexport16.meeting-mojo.com/
