Chamber
Membership

International
Business

CIPS &
Training

Chamber
Communications

Policy &
Lobbying

Low
Carbon

Introduction

The Chamber provides a range of business support services for the business community, with specific emphasis on tapping in to new markets, increasing sales and reducing costs. Your International Business Team at the Chamber has extensive and successful experience over many years to support and raise the international competitiveness of your business.

The team is one of three in the UK to be accredited to the British Chambers of Commerce excellence standard in international trade and team members are recruited directly from industry and have direct experience of growing international business.

We work closely with public and private organisations to bring an integrated approach to the abundance of options available to assist new start-ups, fledging exporters and established businesses – manufacturers or service providers.

What More UK Ltd have been a member of the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce for many years. But it wasn’t until 2009, the year What More started to export, that we realised the full potential of the help they can provide. Over a 5 week period, running through May into June of that year, they put together a tailor-made course going through export documentation and many other areas that could be a mine field for new and even experienced exporters.

This involved staff from all aspects of our business, sales, finance, manufacture and distribution. I still have the certificate to prove it. From those humble beginnings, What More now sends its Wham branded products to 68 countries worldwide. The help of our Chamber in the preparation service they provide, on EUR1 and Certificates of Origin etc. free our staff to concentrate on other things, in the knowledge that that element of the process is well and truly covered. This awakening in 2009 also prompted us to look at everything that our Chamber had to offer, it opened up an Aladdin’s Cave of business goodies. The Chamber is not just a UK thing, it is a worldwide organisation. They have provided What More with in-depth information relating to specific countries, up to the minute information on prospective customers and accurate contact details.

As far as here at home is concerned, we are lucky to be a member of a really proactive Chamber. They run export events on a regular basis, courses to help not only companies new to export but to those who are very experienced, they give us knowledge and encourage us to share our experiences. They form manufacturers forums for example, bringing together the areas manufacturers, to share both problems and ideas, the list of benefits to any business is too long to go into everything.

They have become a valuable extension to our company, without their help, I can honestly say that What More wouldn’t be in the position we are in today.

Tony Grimshaw OBE, Director of What More UK Ltd