Orient - The Official Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore - Issue 72 June 2019
Spotlight on:
Sheffield
By Sheffield City Region
In this issue the Chamber is delighted to introduce a new series, "Spotlight On", where we aim to shed light on various regions of the UK, discovering new key sectors and companies that have plans to expand into the Asia Pacific region. In this piece, we shine the spotlight on Sheffield
Here in the Sheffield City Region, the same qualities that fired the world’s first industrial revolution now power our 21st-century advanced manufacturing and engineering story.
Companies such as Rolls Royce, Boeing and McLaren have chosen to locate in our region as we've developed an international reputation for our excellence in advanced manufacturing.
In our emerging Global Innovation Corridor, companies from SMEs to world-leaders are developing new materials and creating solutions to real life manufacturing and engineering problems. They benefit from a business-friendly public sector; cutting-edge university-business collaborations, and a geographic position right at the centre of the UK, with super-connected links by road, rail and air. Key sectors for the region include aerospace, automotive, digital, health and wellbeing, rail and logistics.
Companies here are also successfully building trade relationships across the globe; taking our distinct specialisms to the international market.
Poco Nido, a Sheffield-based company that creates limited-edition children's clothing and footwear, has established a second company in Singapore. Founder and designer Catherine Lobley said: "The company came into being because my husband had been posted to Singapore for work. I decided to start up a second company, running it alongside the existing one in the UK.
"The week I arrived in Singapore, I already had an appointment scheduled with a new supplier. To do that from the UK would have been impossible because a small business doesn’t have budget for long distance factory trips. This July. I’m exhibiting in Shanghai for the first time, which is another thing that we would have struggled to do with the UK company.
"Setting up the company was easy, but you need to be on the ball with regulation changes. Finding the right accountant and business advisor is so important. You also have to be very careful of IP infringement. I faced problems with our owl logo and it led to a lot of unexpected cost to reclaim, so if you register in the UK or Europe, do China at the same time.
"As with any expansion into a new area, there are pros and cons. But as long as you have the right support and your business can take on the extra work involved my advice is to do it because the world is so much bigger than just the UK."