Message to East Midlands firms from new UKTI Chief Executive visits to Rolls Royce and Smith of Derby
The new Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), Dominic Jermey, today ( Thursday 23 October) issued a clear message to East Midlands firms on his first visit to the region since taking up his post in June 2014.
He stressed there would be an increased emphasis on more partnership and collaboration across government and with the private sector in a bid to ensure the Government’s ambitious targets for increased exports and Foreign Direct Investment are met.
Dominic moved to his new role from the UAE, where he was British Ambassador for four years. He was previously Managing Director of UKTI’s Sectors Group for three years, helping 11,000 of the UK’s most innovative companies to do business around the world, and was acting Chief Executive for UKTI in 2009. He began his career in corporate finance with a British investment bank and joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1993.
Speaking during his visit to Rolls Royce and Smith of Derby, he said:
“The Government has set an ambitious target to double exports to £1 trillion, and to double foreign direct investment (FDI) in the UK to £1.5 trillion – all by 2020. This is no mean feat. Getting there will need the energy and creativity of all of us, it will need different ways of working between ourselves and our partners – both in government and within the business community.
“And the East Midlands has an enormous part to play. That’s why I’ve been in the region to meet UKTI’s team here, our local partners and companies to find out what they’re doing and how we can work together better to inspire and support others to take up the export for growth challenge.”
Latest statistics show more than £21.28 billion worth of goods were exported from the region in the 12 months up to the end of March 2014.
Dominic was accompanied on the visit to Rolls Royce and Smith of Derby by UKTI Regional Director Ian Harrison, and Helen Foxley, International Trade Adviser.
Rolls-Royce is a key player in UK engineering and manufacturing.
The Derby site is the headquarters for Rolls-Royce’s Civil Aerospace and Submarines businesses, with engineering, research and technology and business support functions all having a major presence in the area. Rolls-Royce employs more than 12,000 people in the area. The company has over 700 suppliers in the region with which it spends some £670m annually.
Helen Kennett, Director, Rolls-Royce said:
“I was delighted to welcome Dominic Jermey to Rolls-Royce in Derby, and to be able to share news about our recent export successes, and future campaigns where we’ll be asking for UKTI’s support in overseas markets.”
Dominic added:
“My challenge as new Chief of UKTI is to build on these firm foundations to drive higher rates of start-ups and create a landscape favourable for East Midlands firms, such as Rolls Royce, to thrive and contribute long term to growth and jobs.”
Smith of Derby Limited began trading back in 1856 and is no stranger to international business, supplying famous landmark public tower clocks in most major cities throughout the world. The company operates from its home base in Derby and employs 60 people in its ‘time team’ with almost 1000 man years of experience in its highly skilled team.
Smith’s recently created the atrium clock for the newly opened Waldorf Astoria Hotel in the UAE and closer to home Smiths employs twenty of its engineers on the road in the UK keeping over 4,500 of the country’s important public clocks ticking – from St. Pancras Station and St Paul’s Cathedral to your local Town Hall or place of worship.
Bob Betts, MD at Smith of Derby said:
“I was delighted to welcome Dominic Jermey to the firm, to be able to share news about our progress and challenges with our export drive and particularly report recent wins in the Middle East supported by UKTI initiatives. We hope we can build on these to enable future investment in the company and drive further growth and support employment opportunity”
Dominic said:
“It is encouraging to see a company such as Smith of Derby, another long-established local business, continue to grow and expand into overseas markets with UKTI’s help, while maintaining their proud tradition.”
For more information about the wide range of support services available through UK Trade & Investment to help your company succeed overseas Call UKTI East Midlands on 0345 052 4001 Or email: info@uktiem.co.uk You can also follow us on Twitter at @UKTI_emids
