Pictured above: (l-r) Jonathan Webber, UKTI's director of international trade for Birmingham, with Mark Thompson, managing director of Interplex Solar Technology (UK)

A Solihull company, which designs and develops innovative solar products, has won its first order in Africa, with help from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

Interplex Solar Technology (UK), of Vulcan Road Industrial Estate, started up in September 2009 and exports already account for 60 per cent of its £150,000 annual turnover. The company now employs three people.

Realising the international potential of the business, managing director Mark Thompson contacted UKTI for help when he first established the company, and enrolled on the flagship Passport to Export scheme.

With advice and support from UKTI, he has spent the last eight months designing and developing new solar products specifically for overseas markets, especially Africa, India and Pakistan.  

Mark said: "We've just achieved our biggest order yet - worth about £55,000 - for solar panels to go to Kenya. This is exactly the breakthrough we are looking for as I see our easy-to-install products as ideal for charities working to provide energy to distant villages, for example. With our DIY kit, village children would be able to do their homework at night for an outlay of about £60.

"The Passport to Export scheme and our international trade adviser, Jonathan Webber, have been fantastic in pointing us in the right direction and providing financial support for us to exhibit at the International Traffic Show in Amsterdam in spring this year.  

"We showcased products such as our solar powered Belisha Beacon and roadside traffic cones to a global marketplace resulting in interest from companies in Germany, Finland and Spain."

Interplex Solar's award-winning DIY kit - Solar 2 GO that consists of 5, 10, 20, and 50 watt Panel Lighting and Charging kits in a box, ideal for sheds, workshops and portable buildings - is available in stores across the UK. Interplex has also added a new range of 240v Solar 2 GO Free Electricity Kits to power devices where there is no power connection.

UKTI's Passport to Export programme provides a package of support for new or novice exporters, including a free export health check, attendance at an export workshop, assistance in formulating an international trade strategy and funding towards implementing this strategy, quality training and mentoring advice and access to the full range of UKTI services.

Jonathan Webber, UKTI's director of international trade for Birmingham, said: "Interplex Solar has a brilliant range from solar-powered traffic products to the new DIY kit that can provide power to garden sheds or homes in the African or Indian continents."