Member Article

Rotherham industrial manufacturer sets sights on the USA

Rotherham-based manufacturer Macalloy, which supplies threaded bar and cable systems for the civil engineering industry, has set its sights on expansion in the USA, with support from the ERDF-funded RiDO’s Soft Landing Zone.

Approximately 80% of the company’s turnover is from export, with the USA representing a big potential market.

RiDO’s business development co-ordinator Nathan Woodcock carried out an extensive research project into the top twenty live civil engineering projects covering stadiums, sports arenas, bridges and airports in the USA.

This in-depth market research included providing Macalloy with contact details of architects, structural engineers and clients for a number of live projects.

The research also included a competitor analysis and relevant information on exhibitions and associations in the USA.

RiDO collaborated with Enterprise Europe Network and UKTI to help Macalloy identify and target new agents in key locations such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Las Vegas, Pittsburg, Washington DC and Philadelphia.

Martin Dootsan, Product Manager at Macalloy, said: “We have found the research carried out by RiDO to be extremely useful and will be using the findings to implement our plan to further expand in the USA over the next two years.

“The research gives a clear indication what projects are being carried out, the location, the key stakeholders we need to communicate with and the value, which is all vital information for us.”

“RiDO has springboarded our plans to expand further into the USA and should lead to major potential growth opportunities.”

Nathan Woodcock, business development co-ordinator for RiDO’s Soft Landing Zone, said: “This has been a very thorough and in-depth research project that has identified many exciting new opportunities for Macalloy.

“We are looking forward to seeing the company grow and expand its operations in the USA.”

The Growth and Prosperity in Rotherham (Soft Landing Zone) project aims to assist Rotherham companies in accessing international markets and also helps foreign inward investors who choose to locate to RiDO’s business centres.

The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted £842k investment from the European Regional Development Fund as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .