Pictured above: (l-r) Sreeram Mandava, Executive Director of Samuha Engineering Industries, Rudi Harders, General Manager of Hemair Systems, an associate company within the Samuha Group, with Gerry Dunne, Managing Director of Westley Engineering Ltd

A Birmingham engineering firm is hoping to win new business in five overseas markets, thanks to a 'Meet the Buyer' event organised by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) in partnership with the Midlands Aerospace Alliance and the Enterprise Europe Network.

Westley Engineering Ltd was one of 30 UK companies taking advantage of an opportunity to meet buyers from across the globe at 'Aerospace Opportunities 2011' which took place recently (2 March), at CADCAM developer Delcam's headquarters in Small Heath, Birmingham.

During a series of 20-minute 'speed networking' sessions set up by UKTI, Westley Engineering Ltd met with buyers from seven companies located in India, Switzerland, Germany, Spain and France.

Based in Aston, Birmingham, the company, which employs 25 staff and designs and manufactures press tools, supplies bespoke precision machined components and manufactures pressings, has seen its exports increase to around 17% of its current turn over.

Gerry Dunne, Managing Director of Westley Engineering Ltd said:

"Events like these are an excellent idea - it saves companies a huge amount of time and money by bringing the buyers to us. We had productive meetings with a number of buyers, including Sahuma Engineering Industries, which we hope will translate into orders and joint ventures in due course."

He continued:

"We've come out of a tough couple of years but I'm very pleased to say, it's a very different story this year. We've already taken on four new people and we expect to see an increase in turnover of around 15%, which will equal the turnover pre-recession of 2008, with exports playing a significant role in this. One of the key factors in our success has been becoming a member of the 'Midlands Assembly Network' (MAN) - a collaboration of nine SME's. MAN not only provides customers with a wide range of mechanical, electro - mechanical and electronic sub assemblies, it also helps level the playing field when we're competing with our larger competitors."

Companies that took part in the recent 'Meet The Buyer event' included Rolls Royce, Aerotech Peissenberg, Lufthansa Technik and Hispano-Suiza.

Linda Smith, International Trade Manager at UKTI said "The Midlands is home to just under one quarter of the UK aerospace industry, 7% of Europe's and 3% of the world's. There are 40,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the region due to revenues from manufacturing for global aerospace markets. We are delighted with the success of this event. During the day, 228 meetings were held - an excellent result for the participating companies and a very cost-effective way of enabling regional companies to access the relevant international markets."

Delcam hosted 'Aerospace Opportunities 2011' after successfully working with UKTI to build its international business. UK's newly-appointed Minister for Trade & Investment, Lord Green attended the event.