Coventry Telegraph’s UK Trade & Investment-sponsored International Trade Award.
WHILE most western-world car-makers struggle, those in China, Asia and Eastern Europe are roaring toward good times. And growing numbers of the latter are using CGI Consulting Ltd – a young Coventry company – to help move their products into the 21st Century.
Design flair and intellectual know-how are the stock-in-trade of a company making all its sales overseas…to the tune of more than £3.5 million in its first 12 months. Such is its export growth that it is a contender for the Coventry Telegraph’s UK Trade & Investment-sponsored International Trade Award.
Many of its customers are in countries which most British people wouldn’t recognise as having car industries – including Uzbekistan and Iran – but they do…and it’s a two-way trade. For many of those countries haven’t heard of British engineering, either. “And we put a lot into making them aware of the skills, innovative ability and value of UK companies,” said CGIC director Thomas Ashton. His company’s origins are in a consultancy with a long history of working for manufacturers the likes of Jaguar, Land Rover and General Motors Advanced Design.
CGIC was launched to deal with the world’s emerging brands and works at the highest levels with clients to help them establish the direction of their product development – from concept and design through to realization. The potential is huge. “China for instance has over 150 indigenous manufacturers. It is the third largest vehicle manufacturer in the world and will soon be number one. “Many have been manufacturing under licence and now want their own intellectual property…and we want British companies to be right at the centre of that growth.” Uzbekistan has been making 100,000 Daewoo-based cars a year – largely for the Russian market – and CGIC has been leading modernisation of that model. “Our team led development of Iran’s national car, and hope to continue that relationship. We have also done two for Tata (India) dealing directly with Mr Tata.” Working with UKT&I has helped CGIC make productive foreign connections. “They’ve been supporting us strongly, and in turn when we get out there we fly the flag for the rest of British industry.”