Insider brought a group of leaders from North East businesses that trade overseas to discuss a range of issues that impact their exporting ventures. The group also provided insights and thoughts about what support is needed to strengthen it further.
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00:00Yeah, we're here at the Darlington Economic Campus for this morning's roundtable on exports.
00:16Fascinating discussion with some businesses that are exporting around the world, all based
00:21in the North East.
00:24Really good conversation.
00:25We're sponsored by Cargo Partner and supported by the Department for Business and Trade.
00:30So we're going to talk to a couple of the businesses that we're here with.
00:33Phil, explain what the airport does in terms of air freight around the world.
00:39Well, the big thing we want to showcase is that we're in the UK's first and largest
00:43regional freight group, with over 800 acres of land to develop.
00:47And clearly we're linked to, we have a multimodal corksaw link to a seaport.
00:50When you start to really put all those things together, we believe that we've got a very
00:53good compelling case, along with the surface access that we've got, the A19, the A1, so
00:58the road connectivity.
00:59When you start to put all those things in, we believe we've got a perfect opportunity
01:02to really help the UK and indeed the North East to really grow its exports and its imports.
01:07Fantastic.
01:08And there's a lot of space there for development on the sides.
01:13What's the next phase of that and what's that going to bring to the airport and for the
01:18North East?
01:19Well, we've got over 800 acres of land to develop, again, which is in the freight port.
01:22But the big thing for that is, clearly, we've started work on the business park.
01:26Eventually we see that can bring over 4,000 jobs to the region.
01:30And what can it do for the airport?
01:32Well, clearly, it's the economic regeneration, which is what the airport is all about, the
01:36jobs, the investment, the tourism, the GVA.
01:39Clearly, on top of that as well, it's revenue coming back into the airport.
01:42So for all the jobs it's creating, it's also clearly bringing in the likes of the landfill
01:46in the airport, the fuel, the parking, the cargo throughput.
01:50There's a huge, big opportunity that we really need to make sure we're working with partners
01:54such as Cargo Partners, such as Insider Media, such as the UK government, to make sure that
01:58we're really getting a hold of this opportunity to make sure people can see, if you need to
02:02export your goods from around the world, they can all start right at Teesside Airport.
02:05The cost benefits of that, and there are huge benefits beyond just the costs, aren't there?
02:11Huge benefits.
02:12And again, that's more where we want to do more about the exemptions, the tariffs, the
02:16trade exemptions, the GVA exemptions that can come with being in the Freeport, which
02:20is a big thing I really think that we need to be pushing.
02:23We need to get that message out further to make UK businesses aware to support the Freeport
02:27panel.
02:28So, Cargo Partners are a large freight forwarder.
02:31We export and import to hundreds of countries around the world.
02:35We've got 160 offices in 40 countries.
02:39So, we're here to try and help.
02:41It's great to sit here and learn and speak to new companies that are looking to start
02:48their exporting journey and see how we can help and try and pass on our expertise.
02:52We know there's a lot of regulations and a lot of challenges that these people find,
02:57and it's great to talk to them from our experience and have a general chat to see if we can help
03:03them in their export journey.
03:06And around some of the issues and challenges that businesses are facing today, you're able
03:11to help them with?
03:12Of course, yes.
03:13So, from a freight perspective, there's always challenges around the world, be it on exports
03:19and imports.
03:20We see at the moment with the Red Sea being closed, that brings its own challenges.
03:25Wars around the world can obviously have massive impacts on how freight is moved.
03:30Regulations like Brexit.
03:31I know we spoke about also CBAM today on certain different regulations.
03:37So, yeah, it's a bit of a minefield.
03:41And people go into the world of exporting thinking, you know, I'll just send it from
03:46A to B and it'll be very, well, maybe not easy, but they don't think it's going to be
03:50as hard as it is.
03:51And we're there to try and say, give them solutions that they can move in multiple different
03:56ways and different timeframes that suits them, depending on what product they ship
04:01and what their customer needs are really.
04:03So, it's a really positive, hopeful discussion today.
04:06I think there's a lot going on in the Northeast, isn't there?
04:09Yeah.
04:10And you want to work with these businesses?
04:12Of course.
04:13And our focus in 2025, as I mentioned in the conversations, is we really want to grow business
04:19moving up towards in the Northeast.
04:21We have offices in Bradford, Manchester and down in Basildon.
04:24And we really want to focus on increasing our business up in the Northeast.
04:28So, if we can help as many companies as possible, that'd be brilliant.
04:30So, talk me through the roundtable, how important it was to engage with businesses and to let
04:35them know about your services.
04:37Well, I think there are a lot of businesses in the Chase Valley that export.
04:41They don't necessarily all communicate with one another.
04:44And some of them have complementary services.
04:47So, there's two businesses that were at the roundtable this morning that have just agreed
04:52to quite an informal at this stage, but working relationship to support each other, opening
04:57doors and making contacts and with distributors and the like in the Middle East.
05:02So, I noticed people furiously taking notes as people were talking about potential collaboration
05:08plans and things like that.
05:10It's also about lessons learned.
05:12So, although we have an export champion network of seasoned export professionals that share
05:17their knowledge across the UK, any business can learn from any other exporter, the successes,
05:24the failures, the things like something falling off a truck and getting damaged, and then
05:28how you get it back through customs to get it fixed.
05:31And so, it's really important to have this networking time so that people can learn from
05:37each other and network.
05:39So, I think that's crucial.
05:41But also, holding it in the Darlington Economic Campus is really important because the purpose
05:46of this place is to break down barriers, not just within government, but for the region.
05:51We're very lucky to have it here.
05:53We've got MCHLG.
05:55We've got Office of National Statistics.
05:57We've got Innovation and Science, as well as the Department for Business and Trade.
06:02And we all talk to each other, and so we can share ideas about good practice and things
06:07like the growth mission, which is one of the government's key agenda issues, to see how
06:12we can all work and make, in particular, Tees Valley better, but also the country as a whole.
06:17So, it's really important.
06:18So, a positive message from the roundtable today.
06:20Absolutely.
06:21The businesses, I think, all raring to go.
06:24I didn't hear anybody say, oh, we're going to scale back exporting, or it's too difficult,
06:28so we're not going to bother.
06:29They were very much, yeah, we know there's challenges.
06:31We know that we can ask DBT for help to get over them.
06:35And we've got a plan.
06:37So, yeah, it was really encouraging.
06:39And such a diverse range of businesses, as well.
06:41It's really important.
06:42Excellent.
06:43Thank you, Amanda.