Focus: Wales
As a natural gateway to the UK and European markets Wales is the first choice for an increasing number of companies from across the globe – and International Business Wales is there to provide support every step of the way
As the 21st century enters its second decade, international economies are dealing with some of the strongest challenges they have faced in more than half a century. The financial crisis has shaken world markets, and the links between some countries and economies have been strained, almost to breaking point. In such a world, consistency and commitment are invaluable traits.
For more than a quarter of a century, International Business Wales (IBW) and its predecessors have been assisting companies who choose Wales as the natural gateway to the UK and the European markets. It is a role International Business Wales continues in this environment.
Businesses come to Wales because they want access to the UK and easy entrance to Europe and the rest of the world. They stay because of the Welsh commitment to innovation and excellence, the solid, creative academic infrastructure, the friendly and open business environment and because Wales is a wonderful place to live. Perhaps the best proof of how well you are doing is repeat customers. Wales is expert at holding on to its friends – 60% of the companies that locate in Wales reinvest there. It is a record International Business Wales are proud of and intend to preserve.
International Business Wales is the economic development and trade development arm of the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG). International Business Wales knows how important access to the right person and speed of decision-making is when dealing with real-life business decisions. International Business Wales and WAG are modern, flexible and completely aligned with real business needs.
At International Business Wales we call our approach “Team Wales” and believe in long-term relationships that help companies establish, grow and then re-invest in Wales. International Business Wales acts as a single point of contact, embracing local authorities, educational institutions, the private sector and WAG.
International Business Wales Specialist Support
With this “one-stop” approach, a company moving into Wales can find a solution to its needs, whether that’s finding the right commercial property or securing government funding – the best in Europe with the maximum assistance levels available in the UK.
International Business Wales operates through specialist teams:
- They help companies locating in Wales to quickly incorporate themselves and to find local legal, accounting and financial firms to service them.
- International Business Wales teams find the right site for a company in a comprehensive database of useful property in Wales.
- International Business Wales deliver the site and, if appropriate, provide a turnkey solution, complete from procurement, design, project management and construction.
- International Business Wales assist in locating suitable local labor talent.
- International Business Wales teams supply contacts at local industry trade groups and names of potential local suppliers of goods and services.
- Fostering and enhancing links between industry and academic institutions, matching investors with developers of new products and processes.
The unique “Welcome to Wales” service from International Business Wales assists your people and their families to find the right housing, gain access to Wales’ excellent education system, obtain work permits and anything else that makes sure they move quickly into their new homes, taking the stress out of relocating and allowing your staff to focus on establishing and growing your business. Businesses find that Wales is affordable. Land costs less. Salaries for skilled software developers in Wales can be 30% lower than other parts of the UK. Staff retention levels are also among the highest in the UK with costs 20% lower.
Cardiff is less than two hours from London by train and less than two hours from Heathrow. Wrexham in North Wales is less than 40 minutes from Manchester and just over an hour from Birmingham. Cardiff Airport has direct flights throughout the UK and to the continent.
Incubators and business clusters
A countrywide network of business incubators under the overall name of Technium unites academic researchers and small and large businesses, and government support personnel meet to develop new ideas and assist young companies to grow into successful businesses. The network has incubators in fields including sustainable technologies, opto-electronics, creative media, digital technology, performance engineering and earth sciences. (To find out more about Technium, visit: www.technium.co.uk.) Incubators and trade groups such as MediWales, the Welsh Optoelectronics Forum, ItWales and others build the sense of community that helps businesses flourish.
Access Wales is a try-before-you-buy service that’s available to high-tech businesses with expansion plans, currently located outside of Wales, to test the Wales – UK market. Successful applicants will have access to – among other benefits – free desk space for a whole year in a choice of 15 innovation centers in Wales. (To find out more visit http://www.ibwales.com/accesswales.)
Let’s look at a few of the opportunities for business in Wales in established markets (information technology, aerospace and defense, life sciences) and emerging sectors (solar, wind, water) – the renewable energies and sustainable technologies of the 21st century.
Massive Markets
Demand for software, computer services and telecommunications in the UK and Europe is huge. The European Union’s appetite for information and telecommunications technology is voracious –almost $823 billion, and the UK devours $250 billion of that. Wales is the gateway to those markets. The nerve center of the UK’s electronics technology industry is the M4 Corridor, a superhighway that runs from London to the west coast of Wales. One quarter of the UK’s fast-growth companies are on or near the M4.
Almost 700 IT companies employ 11,000 people in Wales. They work on everything from software for the travel industry, to monitoring gas station sales to tracking telecommunication networks to providing IT services. IBM, Logica, EDS and International Rectifier are familiar roadside logos.
To sustain and grow those companies, Wales’ highly ranked universities are completely focused on graduating talented and well-trained people. The Institute of Advanced Telecommunications at Swansea University in the south of Wales is developing applications and new technologies for medicine, transport, entertainment and construction and other industries. IBM and Motorola are just two of the international software giants who are collaborating with IAT.
Since it won a $2 billion contract in 2001 to supply the UK Ministry of Defence with a next-generation secure communications system, General Dynamics has expanded its operations in Wales several times. It established its only Edge research center outside the US in Wales, and is now one of the leading UK exporters of defense systems. GD works closely with Cardiff University to develop educational programs to support its efforts, and to involve small and medium-sized companies in its projects. EADS and QinetiQ form a cluster of defense aerospace companies with GD in Wales, nurturing smaller companies and fed by university technology graduates.
Staying Healthy
And Wales is well situated to go after the international defense market, and the ever-growing demand for healthcare products and services. The UK healthcare market exceeds $160 billion and the exports are more than $20 billion. The National Health Service’s budget is set to increase by 4% per year until 2010-11, taking it from $130 billion (£90 billion) in 2007-08 to $160 billion (£110 billion) by 2010-11.
Welsh universities are first rate. Sir Martin Evans, a Nobel Prize winner in 2007 for his stem cell research, is on the faculty of Cardiff University. A new high-performance computing center is used in advanced cancer research and analyzing the structure and operations of the human brain. The School of Medicine at Cardiff is one of the largest in the UK, employing nearly 500 academic and 300 support staff. Over 1,000 undergraduate and 1,100 postgraduate students are currently enrolled on medical and science courses.
Swansea University houses an IBM supercomputer at its Life Sciences Institute, one of the largest if not the largest computer of its kind dedicated solely to healthcare research. In north Wales, Bangor University is a recognized center for research in biochip (Lab-on-a-chip) and Biodielectrics.
Lighting up the World
The world energy crisis has driven home the need for all countries to develop energy-efficient technologies and preserve the environment. Wales is home to two of the UK’s three manufacturers of photovoltaic devices – Sharp Manufacturing and ICP Solar. ‘There is such a strong optoelectronics industry in North Wales, allowing us to capitalize on the huge growth in demand for solar energy products,’ says Gordon Butler, General Manager, Sharp Wrexham plant.
Pure Wafer of Swansea has developed a manufacturing process for converting scrap silicon into highly efficient photovoltaic solar cells, which it plans to include in its own solar panels. The company will be able to supply large commercial and public buildings and single residents. Because it is using recycled material from its existing business, Pure Wafer will also have the lowest carbon method of turning out photovoltaic cells. The company developed this technology in co-operation with Swansea University.
Dyesol, an Australian company, has formed a venture with Corus, the steel manufacturing plant in north Wales, to explore ways in which Dyesol’s innovative thin film photovoltaic systems can be used in commercial constructions, essentially applying the technology to steel used in commercial and industrial facilities. Dyesol also carries out research at OpTIC Technium, one of the incubators developed by IBW to support small innovative companies creating new technologies.
The Western Wood Energy Plant in Port Talbot is Wales’ first commercial-scale biomass project and generates 14MWe by burning forestry wood and clean wood processing residues in a state-of-the-art combustion plant. With high load factors it is one of the best performing biomass sites in the UK. It also took the honors in the category of Sustainability at the LABC Building Excellence Awards 2009.
Situated on Britain’s Atlantic coast, Wales is a natural site for wind energy. There are currently 25 offshore and onshore wind farms operating in Wales. Eight more projects have been approved and another 19 are planned. For instance, Npower renewables, one of the largest utilities in the UK, has received approval to build the largest wind farm in Europe off the north coast of Wales. Its maximum electrical output could supply electricity for almost 500,000 homes. Other major utility companies such as E.On and Falck Renewables are running wind farms in Wales now, and planning more.
New forms of energy
In addition Npower renewables has formed a new partnership, SeaGenWales, to develop a tidal power plant off the north Wales coast that could be powering up to 6,000 homes by 2011. Eco2, Cardiff, has helped fund a company, Tidal Energy, that plans to install an underwater turbine-driven system for producing electricity off the southwest coast of Wales. The biggest project of all would be the $15 billion-plus Severn Barrage in southern Wales. If approved, it could provide 5% of the electricity for all of the UK.
Welsh universities are active in supporting the search for new forms of energy. The engineering department of Cardiff University includes specialists in integrating low-carbon energy technologies in decentralized systems, and exploring strategic planning and management. Swan Turbines, founded by a Swansea University professor, developed an ocean-based system for generating electricity using underwater turbines. Researchers at North East Wales Institute’s Centre for Solar Energy Research specialize in bio-organic and materials chemistry. Bangor University’s chemistry department has expertize in advanced materials such as dye-sensitized titania solar cells-used to build low-cost solar panels.
Work/life balance
The government, educational and business communities of Wales are committed to building the country’s economy through co-operation and collaboration. Support for new investors is available from the first day they arrive throughout the time they are in Wales. That attitude makes a great place to work and live. The countryside, from its spectacular coast lines to its mountains, and its cultural centres add to the appeal of the business proposition.
For more information, contact:
International Business Wales
Wales International Center
The Chrysler Building
405 Lexington Avenue
21st Floor
New York
NY 10174
Tel: +001 (646) 792 8915
E-mail: ibwales@wales.gsi.gov.uk
Website: www.ibwales.com
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