Award-winning manufacturer PPM Technology has carved out a strong international business as one of only a handful of high quality companies around the world that make monitoring equipment for formaldehyde and other toxic gases.
Due to the extent to which formaldehyde is used internationally, across a vast number of markets and industries, PPM has developed an increasingly large global scope and operates in sectors including pharmaceuticals, healthcare, farming including poultry, construction, wood based industries, clothing, beauty and many more.
PPM exports to more than 40 countries around the world and exports account for 80% of turnover.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic impacting the business, the Caernarfon-based firm has enjoyed a strong performance in recent years thanks to rising domestic sales and a strategic export growth plan that is consistently exploring new territories and market sectors. Sales have been rising and the company anticipates that by 2025 they will be looking at one of their most profitable years yet.
Today, PPM’s international markets include Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Europe and the United States.
Focus on the US
“The US is a real focus for us”, says John Brinley Jones, Managing Director at PPM, “it’s a tough market and margins are really tight there, but it’s huge. We’ve worked in the US for many years but we want to be doing a lot more, specifically within the poultry sector, where we have seen much of our work pivot to in more recent years. The US poultry sector is worth tens of billions of dollars and so to play a significant part in that would be transformational for us as a company.”
PPM Technology operates out of a facility on the Cibyn Industrial Estate in Caernarfon, where it employs 9 staff. The company is currently planning to recruit more employees; within production due to increased sales, and also within sales and marketing who will assist with the firm’s export strategy.
The firm was originally set up in the early 1990s by Dr Tom Parry Jones, whose Lion Laboratories developed the world’s first electronic breathalyser. After a management buyout in 1999, the company – renamed PPM Technology – changed focus to exploit a newly emerging market for its products in Asia. China is a significant market and long standing export territory where sales are recovering in the region following a drop during the early years of the pandemic due to lengthy lockdowns.
Support to visit markets
Over the years PPM has received a range of support from Welsh Government export specialists including assistance with participation in trade missions and attendance at key exhibitions, as well as general export advice.
“Market visits have always been vital for us”, says John, “I’ve just come back from an interesting Welsh Government trip to Sydney, and while I was there, I extended the trip so I could also meet with our distributor in Melbourne. Maintaining our global relationships is key.
“We also hope to visit China and other Far Eastern countries later this year. We haven’t been for a number of years and so we’re keen to get back to our partners over there, as well as forge new relationships.
“2024 and 2025 will definitely be big years for us in terms of our export programmes and this will involve a lot of travel, much of which will be supported by the Welsh Government.
“I’ve been travelling the world for years, travelling alone has its challenges, especially on business and to a country you haven’t been to previously. However, when you’re on a trade mission you meet so many people and companies, so much of the work is done for you. They are extremely worthwhile experiences.”