A local building sector company has secured its first business in the Netherlands for a highly innovative PVC flooring system.

Unicorn Mouldings, which has manufacturing plants in Lisburn and Markethill, was assisted by Invest Northern Ireland to take part in an export development initiative in the Netherlands in December and has just shipped its first consignment of an interlocking flooring system to a distributor there.

The Invest NI support, delivered by an experienced marketing consultancy in Amsterdam, helped the company to research market opportunities there and then to identify a potential representative in this important European marketplace.

Dr Vicky Kell, Invest NI Trade Director, welcoming the company's success in the Netherlands, said: "Unicorn Mouldings has moved very quickly and successfully to exploit a substantial opportunity it has identified in the Netherlands for its flooring product and lined up business there just a few months following its participation in one of our most popular and successful programmes.

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"Our strategic focus on the Netherlands and the very practical support that we offer has assisted many local companies to develop good business there for a very broad range of products and services.

"Unicorn is another excellent example of a local exporting company which has used our expertise and on-the-ground support, to develop a new market for its quality products. The company has also recognised that the Netherlands is a substantial market in its own right and that it also provides a perfect platform for expansion into neighbouring countries including Belgium, Germany and Denmark.

"Around 100 companies have taken part in this initiative and most have been successful in winning business there. We've also been encouraged by the large number of companies which have gone on to pursue opportunities in other global markets," added Dr Kell.

Natasha Mitchell, Unicorn Export Sales Manager, said: "Invest NI's support for market research and in pinpointing several potential representatives in the Netherlands was immensely important. The research indicated that our flooring product was much more advanced than those already on the market.

"Most of the potential representatives identified for us by Invest NI were keen to do business with us because they recognised the immense potential of our unique flooring system. We see significant scope for growth in the Netherlands and neighbouring markets such as Belgium."

Unicorn Mouldings is a leading manufacturer of industrial flooring as well as commercial and domestic flooring. Operating internationally, the company, which employs 130 people in Northern Ireland, has offices in Surrey and Hong Kong.

(GK)