Laminar Medica

Industry: Packaging
Target Market: Singapore
UKTI Service: OMIS
Website: www.laminarmedica.com   

Laminar Medica specialises in the design, test, qualification and manufacture of insulated shipping systems, used by the pharmaceutical and biotech industries to transport temperature-sensitive products. The company’s range of packaging caters for shipments requiring a specific temperature range, such as controlled ambient, chilled or frozen, with solutions to suit the size of shipment, from small insulated envelopes up to full pallet loads.
There has always been an export element to Laminar’s business, which has continued to grow and now accounts for a significant proportion of the company’s overall turnover. In 2005, the company set up a manufacturing facility in the Czech Republic to serve customers across Central and Eastern Europe. This expansion has continued with manufacturing partnerships in the US and Singapore, providing a market presence in North America and Asia.

“Over 90 per cent of our clients are in the pharmaceuticals and biotech industries,” says Mike Hickey, Sales and Marketing Director of Laminar Medica. “Customers like our products, but they expect us to make them available from a local supplier in order to reduce the transportation and environmental costs. Our expansion of manufacturing and distributor operations allows us to serve locally an increasingly globalised customer base, wherever they set up their operation, a factor which attracts customers from around the world. When pursuing new markets outside the UK, our strategy starts by identifying regions where there is latent demand for our product. Once our market research confirms this, we look to appoint a distributor to sell products that are manufactured in the UK or the Czech Republic. Finally, when a region delivers a sustained period of growth, we seek to establish a local manufacturing partnership.”

Looking East

As part of its pursuit of foreign markets, Laminar had a long standing interest in Asia, as customers continued to set up operations in this region. After extensive market research, Singapore was identified as the optimum base, from an operational perspective; it combined a central Asia location with an English speaking population and was already home to a number of potential international customers.

Serious about expansion in Asia, the company contacted UK Trade & Investment to see what support was available. Following a meeting in January 2007 with a UK Trade & Investment adviser, Laminar commissioned an Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) report to identify potential customers and partners in and around Singapore.

“We could have used the services of an independent marketing company to get the initial information we needed about Singapore,” says Mike. “But UK Trade & Investment works through the network of British Embassies and has people on the ground who really know local business. The service was subsidised, so it’s good value for money. We were happy with the results of the OMIS report, which helped to identify and target potential distribution partners.”

Perfect partner

In 2007, Laminar met potential business partners in Singapore, all of whom had been shortlisted from those identified from the OMIS report. After assessing all of the businesses, they concluded that Aeris Dynamics offered the greatest potential, in terms of industry knowledge and local trading links. Following subsequent negotiations and agreements, Aeris were appointed as Laminar’s Asian distributor at the beginning of 2008.

Laminar’s relationship with Aeris has since grown to incorporate the local manufacture of its products, incorporating both companies’ identities, a fact that reinforces the strength of the partnership. This dual branded approach was evident at a recent customer event, where a number of prospective customers toured the Aeris manufacturing facility and learned more about insulated shipping systems.

“UK Trade & Investment’s OMIS helped us to find the right partner for our business in Singapore,” says Mike. “We wanted to work with a local company already experienced in our field, who understood the technicalities of our business. With Aeris as our partner, we aligned ourselves with an established local presence. Together with our existing clients in Singapore, and our global brand, this is a strong partnership and we’re really happy with the way it is progressing. Any UK company considering business overseas should contact UK Trade & Investment, especially if they are new to a region. We are already using them again to explore other markets, and will continue to do so as we grow our international business.”

The UK and Singapore

Singapore is a trading nation and one of the world's most open economies. Its total external trade amounts to 360 per cent of GDP and it tops the Global Trade Enabling Index (World Economic Forum).

Singapore is the UK's 12th largest export market of goods outside the EU and the sixth largest for services. Many UK firms use Singapore as an entry point into South East Asia and as a result almost 900 UK firms have a presence there, with around 250 establishing their Regional HQ's in Singapore.  

For further information about business opportunities in Singapore, please go to UKTI.