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INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Armac Martin
Winning a Queen’s Award for International Trade isn’t the first time Amaia Clothing Ltd has had a royal stamp of approval. The children’s clothing company, inspired by owner Amaia Arrieta’s native Spain, has long been a favourite of the Duke Amaia Clothing Ltd
Established in 1929, Armac Martin designs and manufactures luxury brass cabinet hardware and accessories for the world’s finest interiors. Dedicated to creating beautiful brass fixtures and fittings for over 90 years in Birmingham, England, its reputation is built on quality, with skills passed down from generation to generation. Experts in exceptional design and exquisite detail, every product is designed in-house, made from solid brass and expertly hand finished. Reflecting on their international success, Commercial Director Richard McGrail said: “Our business has gone from
and Duchess of Cambridge. From the beginning in 2004, Amaia Kids has received regular royal patronage, with word spreading among the royal families of Europe. Yet despite this, Amaia’s is not an exclusive boutique business – instead, it produces and sells quality, elegant, practical, top quality clothes and accessories to fit a child’s life. They also reflect Amaia’s philosophy of heritage and sustainability. “We have always been true to our DNA,” says Amaia. “They are all made in Spain in small factories by specialist seamstresses with great love, care and attention to detail.” Over the three-year assessment period for the Queen’s Award, export sales grew by 307% with the proportion of total sales achieved overseas growing from 34% to 58%. Amaia Clothing sells through its stores in London and Shenzhen in China, holding pop-up shops in key department stores in Japan, and increasingly online, which alone generates 75% of sales. There are plans to open a second Chinese store in Shanghai as well as going online in the country. AMAIA CLOTHING LTD 14 Cale Street, London SW3 3QU Tel: + 44 (0)20 7590 0999 • contact@amaiakids.co.uk • www.amaiakids.co.uk amaiakids @AmaiaKids
strength to strength over recent years and winning this award highlights how our international growth strategy has really paid off, despite a global pandemic.” He continues: “We have streamlined and automated processes within our factory to help meet growing demand and allowing us to reduce lead times has given us an edge over competitors.” Over the past few years, Armac Martin has developed its international trade significantly and now ships over 50% of orders overseas.
Richard McGrail, Commercial Director of Armac Martin
ARMAC MARTIN 160 Dollman Street, Birmingham, B7 4RS Tel: 0121 359 2111 • sales@armacmartin.co.uk • www.armacmartin.co.uk @armacmartin
Plymouth-based Artemis Optical is a world- renowned provider of high precision, optical thin film coatings for many ground-breaking high-tech applications. It is one of the UK’s largest independent thin film coatings providers, with a client portfolio that includes blue chip equipment manufacturers in the defence, aerospace, security, medical and analytical instrumentation sectors. Thin film coatings are part of our everyday lives and can be found on a diverse range of everyday products, like the screens of our mobile phones or the anti-reflection coating on our Artemis Optical Ltd
Bespoke, internally designed laser testing equipment
The state of the art design and manufacturing facility
builds on its reputation for technology and innovation by increasing its R&D as well as its manufacturing capability and capacity. Last year the business spent over £1m on a new high precision vacuum chamber and associated apparatus as well as test equipment. That spend profile is set to continue this year. They are also involved in a project focusing on enhancing machine performance and efficiency alongside Plymouth University’s Faculty of Science & Engineering. Despite the problems caused by the pandemic, Artemis grew its business by 11 per cent, as well as increasing its highly skilled staff by 15% including several bright young graduates! The firm expects further growth in 2022 of around 15 per cent. Considering recent global events many countries
around the world are looking to bolster their defences with the sort of hi-tech solutions that Artemis can provide, which is likely to lead to more UK and overseas business. The business aims to be carbon neutral by 2026.
spectacles. However, they are also used in far more challenging applications, and this is where Artemis has developed a reputation for providing innovative, pioneering solutions that enable businesses such as BAE Systems, Thales and Leonardo to develop their own high-tech systems. Through these innovations, Artemis Optical has become a global business with export sales more than doubling in the last five years alone and overseas sales growth of 65 per cent across the last three years, with top markets including the USA, Europe, Singapore, Australia, the Middle East and the Far East. The team are also looking at how the business
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ARTEMIS OPTICAL LTD 1 Western Wood Way, Langage Science Park, Plympton, Plymouth, Devon PL7 5BG Tel: +44 (0)1752 341943 or 07968 480947
info@artemis-optical.co.uk www.artemis-optical.co.uk 1250665
artemisoptical
@Artemis_Optical
artemis-optical-ltd
Queen’s Awards Magazine 2022
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