Huddersfield business set for ‘breakthrough’ export boost with new deal to sell oil to Iraq

A Huddersfield-based company is set to export blended oils to Iraq after seeking help from overseas trade specialist, Chamber International.

Sterling Oil Ltd is to start selling its wide range of commercial oils to Iraq after Chamber International completed its verification and registration to trade with the Iraqi government.

Established in 2015, the company has four staff, a turnover of £500k and already exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Sterling Oil Ltd is part of Huddersfield-based Universal Group of companies, run by Yorkshire businessman, Martin Adams, which has 90 staff and a total turnover of £7m.

The Universal Group comprises eight companies: Sterling Global Group, HR Blowers Ltd, Turbo Precision Components Ltd, Universal Engineering Workholding Ltd, Exactobore International Limited, Friction Welding Systems, Mastercraft Machine Tools Ltd and Sterile Food Pharma Valve Company Ltd.

Director Martin said: “The registration is a major breakthrough which has the potential to drive significant growth within the business for years ahead.

“Being able to trade in Iraq, a major oil-producing nation, crucially opens the door for other companies within our group to trade there.

“It is difficult to say what this means to Sterling Oil in terms of revenue as it depends how much we sell.

“However, given that our oils are blended to meet the needs of a wide range of commercial sectors, from automotive to heavy and light industry, we could easily achieve £5m in additional sales in the next few years.

“To enable us to trade in Iraq we had to compile detailed information for both the UK and Iraq governments about Sterling Oil Ltd.

“It is highly complex and the fact that Lydia Moi at Chamber International did this successfully in less than two weeks is virtually unbelievable. She did a fantastic job which will have real and lasting impact on this business.

Tim Bailey, Chamber International director, commented: “Being able to sell blended oil back to the Middle East is no mean feat and demonstrates the excellence of some UK businesses and the opportunities which exist overseas.

“It is also good to see more and more Yorkshire small businesses looking beyond the EU as we seek to become a true global trading nation.”

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