50 Favourite Exporters

Here’s a checklist of inspiration for aspiring exporters. Our collection of 50 favourite success stories shows that there is no magic ingredient to making it on the world stage, but it certainly helps to get the basics right.

ACT

Sentinel

•         Exporting since: 2000

•         Key markets: Tanzania, Senegal, Zambia, Mali, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, PNG.

Sentinel specialises in environmental monitoring around mine sites, and while a previous business connection kick-started the company’s first export deal, Sentinel has become well-known in the international market, receiving most of its new business by word-of-mouth.

With 80 percent of the business now in overseas markets, the company prides itself on offering strong client relationships and having a tenacity to work in sometimes remote and dangerous areas. Being seen to work in such environments over a prolonged period wins Sentinel work in other locations, explains managing director, Rod Sandison. He says being open and honest when communicating with clients has paid off, and has helped to prevent issues with cash flow by ensuring payment is made prior to exporting.

The Lark Hill Wine Company

•         Exporting since: 1991

•         Key markets: Asia.

Minimalistic winemaking, with the use of pure fruit, has led this small family business to stand out from the pack. Founded by husband and wife team, David and Susan Carpenter, Lark Hill made its first export to Harrods, by invitation, in 1991.

Now, together with their son Chris, and seasonal contract workers, they export to Asia as well. Their products are also popular at home, where they are bought by Qantas for business class international flights.

The Carpenters believe their holistic approach to agriculture, based around sustainable practices and natural preventions, results in healthier wines and fruit. They are now in the process of using soil microbes to increase soil health.

One of the family’s great delights is meeting overseas visitors, who turn up at their door with obscure non-English publications that mention Lark Hill wine.

Innovation Dynamics

•         Exporting since: 2005

•         Key markets: the US, Chile, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore.

Just two years old, Innovation Dynamics started exporting its services almost immediately, providing independent advice to technology-based organisations to help them manage change, and is well-known globally for its knowledge of the biotech industry. The company is sought out by overseas businesses for this knowledge and publishes a report on the Australian industry that it sells overseas.

Exports account for about 12 percent of the business (up from 8 percent last year) and growing, thanks to strong international alliances and active marketing to representatives of overseas governments in Australia. Innovation Dynamics’ managing director, Lyndal Thorburn, says the company’s international exposure has also helped to grow its domestic business. “Our export experience helps lift our standing with our Australian clients.”

Clonakilla

•         Key markets: the US, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, Japan, Ireland, New Zealand.

Established in 1971, Clonakilla has received such acclaim for its award-winning boutique Australian wines that high-end wine importers around the world have sought out the company, contributing substantially to its growing exports.

The family business currently has 22 acres under vine, producing around 9,000 cases of wine each year with further plantings planned in the future.

Working in partnership with overseas agents, Clonakilla promote their wines through international trade tastings and media events, and host events for overseas media at the winery, in an attempt to build awareness and appreciation for the brand globally. Despite this being a highly competitive market that has suffered setbacks due to the drought, Clonakilla has achieved a 10-fold increase in production over the last nine years and is still trying to catch up with demand.

Australian Scientific Instruments

•         Exporting since: 1995

•         Key markets: Asia, Europe, North and South America.

ASI is a subsidiary of ANU Enterprises—the commercial arm of the Australian National University—and has had great success in manufacturing and exporting scientific instruments to geophysicists around the world, in particular its Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (or SHRIMP).

ASI manager, Ed Roberts, says the SHRIMP technology has become so well known among the world’s geologists that many use the verb ‘SHRIMP’ to refer to ion probe dating of a sample even when using a competitor’s machine. The SHRIMP is supported by software such as PRAWN and SQUID, so not surprisingly the company will often get inquiries about seafood.

With 80 percent of sales coming from overseas, Roberts attributes ASI’s export success to its unique technology and ongoing research, as well as close collaboration with clients, enabling them to maximise the product’s benefits.

Compucat Research Pty Ltd

Exporting since: 1981

Key markets: North America, Europe, New Zealand.

Since it began exporting more than 20 years ago, information security specialists, Compucat Research have secured a piece of the export market in the US, UK, Canada, Europe, and New Zealand.

With a build local, deliver global objective, they are putting their team of 100 employees to work developing IT hardware and software with quality design, implementation, and integration. Compucat Research also provide communication systems for military, intelligence, and commercial environments.

Research is a must for the company, to ensure they select the most appropriate customer base before entering a target market. Their persistence and focus has also paid off, and Compucat Research’s first US customer sale was the largest sale in the company’s 25-year history.