Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment visits Hills Numberplates

Birmingham based Hills Numberplates, the UK’s largest manufacturer of vehicle number plates was visited today (9th October) by Dominic Jermey, CVO, OBE the recently appointed Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment.

Dominic Jermey was able to see first-hand how Hills, a British manufacturing company, had turned around its fortunes following a general reduction in trade caused by the credit crunch. The Birmingham based manufacturer not only restructured its business but also expanded its export operations and maintained a strong focus on international growth.

Hills export in bulk to four European countries and has a newly opened operation in Kuala Lumpur serving not only Malaysia but S.E. Asia and Hong Kong. More recently work has begun in the Americas with projects in the USA, Latin America and the Caribbean opening up new opportunities.

Dominic Jermey commented: “It is always encouraging to see great British manufacturing not just alive and well, but thriving in the West Midlands. The team at Hills have worked incredibly hard and shown both determination and innovation that has helped their international growth.

“I encourage other West Midlands companies to increase their level of exports to take advantage of benefits international markets can offer. Businesses wishing to export can contact UKTI for all the necessary help and support.”

Business Development Manager for Export at Hills Chris Glendinning said, “We continue to see international development as key to growth, our export activity creates large scale opportunity. We work closely with industry partners in most of the markets we operate but have taken a different approach with Malaysia where we have formed a new company and are developing the market with our own team.

Hills Managing Director, Richard Taffinder remarked, “It is an honour to welcome Dominic to Hills, the assistance of UKTI and the Birmingham Chamber has been a valuable source of support.

Taffinder concluded, “The recent history of Hills has witnessed a complete overhaul of the business and export plays a major part in this as well as our future strategy. It is however vital that we ensure our home market and customer base is well maintained and serviced to our high standards. With innovative product development and world class service, this allows us to devote resource and investment to the development of international growth.”