Asia success unstoppable for Cambridgeshire
laboratory equipment firms
Over four years ago Royston-based Syrris, which provides equipment for laboratories, decided it was time to expand its global distribution to the Asia Pacific. Now, thanks to help from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) it has established bases in Japan and India. It also has distributors in over seven countries in the region including China, Thailand and Indonesia. Having won a £3m grant from the Technology Strategy Board (part of BIS), Syrris set up a subsidiary company in 2006, The Dolomite Centre, to focus on the emerging technology of microfluidics. This enables manufacturers to develop more cost-effective and powerful systems for laboratories.
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Following in the footsteps of its founding company, Dolomite is now beginning to see substantial growth in Asia. The company has recently secured a substantial order from a Singapore company, Clearbridge Biomedics, for its CTC4 product, which can isolate, enumerate, and most importantly retrieve wholly intact and viable Circulating Tumour Cells (CTCs) from patient whole blood.
This revolutionary device can potentially improve cancer diagnostics, cancer treatment decisions, and pave the way for personalised cancer medication for patients. Speaking of this success, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Syrris and Dolomite, Nick Tait, says, “It has been our goal from the start to take our products overseas to ensure the ongoing expansion of our business. In doing this Syrris has definitely seen a gradual shift in demand for its products from the Western to the Eastern hemisphere. Thirty five percent of Syrris’ business now comes from markets in Asia – therefore we can say that a key reason for our success is our decision to look at opportunities in this region.”
He continues, “We’re therefore delighted that Dolomite is beginning to move in the same direction. Through successfully forging a new partnership with Clearbridge Biomedics in Singapore, the company is now on the right path to branching out further to other markets in Asia. Within Asia and the field of bio-medics Clearbridge Biomedics is a well respected, forward-thinking company, which is in the early stages of its development. It is therefore an exciting time for us to be working with the team.”
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Dolomite is expecting a further order from Clearbridge Biomedics within the next month for more modules and development work. In the next year it is also looking to potentially setting up a subsidiary office in Singapore, using support from UKTI. “We have learnt an awful lot, from close working with UKTI, about targeting markets in the Asia Pacific,” says Nick. “Syrris has achieved success in Asia through taking the necessary time to build a solid understanding of the markets we planned to target. For example we joined UKTI’s Export Marketing Researching Scheme (EMRS) in 2007, which enabled the company’s director to tap into financial support and market research during a trip to Japan. This led to Syrris gaining a distributor and setting up a subsidiary office in Japan. More importantly it provided the team with a solid understanding and new-found confidence in terms of doing business in Asia - this has been instrumental to achieving similar success in the region with Dolomite.”
He concludes, “Asia is not a market that can be ignored by UK businesses – particularly those, like Syrris and Dolomite, working in the field of science and engineering. Within this field we are seen by countries in Asia as world leaders and there is a real demand for our knowledge and expertise. There are therefore opportunities to be seized and UKTI is well positioned to help firms take their first steps into what can, at first, seem like daunting territory. Hopefully the success stories we have to tell demonstrate that Asia is really worth the time and effort.”
For further information on Syrris, visit www.syrris.com.
For further information on Dolomite, visit www.dolomite-microfluidics.com
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