Scottish Export Index Nominee: Buttonfix
Inspiration
Hear from Buttonfix one of our Scottish Export Index 2022 Nominees.
What does your company do?
We design, develop and market a range of interior panel fixings that we have manufactured in Selkirk, Scotland.
How important has exporting been to the growth/ongoing success of your company?
Without it, we would be half our size and less profitable.
What does your company export, and where to?
We export all of our panel fixings to distributors in 26 countries around the world. Please see our where to buy page for details: https://button-fix.com/where-to-buy
What’s next for your company?
An export drive to increase distribution in America and to seek out new distributors in Europe and in Indonesia.
What would be the main lesson learned/piece of advice you would give to companies starting their export journey?
Do not think that because Americans speak English that they think the same as we do - it is a different culture. If American companies buy from you, get them to buy at your factory gate so you are not actually trading in the US or Uncle Sam might tax you. Get a good US attorney to write your global warranties. Only give up pro-forma invoicing when a customer or distributor has shown a reliable record of payments. Learn more about a territory and its culture before exporting there.
What inspired you to export?
Our business is a numbers game therefore more sales are essential and our products export well.
What support have you had along the way?
Several grants for R&D.
What have the main challenges been and how did you overcome these?
Brexit has made exporting to Europe and the rest of the world more difficult and there are no advantages to it.