NORTH Yorkshire cable cleat manufacturer Ellis is looking to increase its exports operation by investing in research in overseas markets.

The firm, which is a finalist in the Press Business Awards Dare to Export category, has appointed Kelly Brown to the newly created position of export market researcher.

The role will see Miss Brown, an accounting and management graduate from Scarborough, carrying out viability research into new export markets, as Ellis aims to further strengthen its global dominance in the cable cleat market.

Export director, Tony Conroy said: "As recently as the late 1990s, Ellis’ business was based entirely on UK sales. Today, over half of our annual turnover comes from export sales and this percentage is growing year-on-year.

"We have a four strong export team in the UK, a business development manager covering Latin America from Montevideo, and an extensive network of distributors working on our behalf in our active export markets.

"The job though is far from complete. There are numerous markets we have yet to explore and Kelly gives us the capability to do this in a manner that will make entering them a great deal easier than it has been in the past."

Ellis's cable cleats and clamps are used to secure electrical cables in a wide variety of installations across the world, with recent overseas contracts including the Novo Rail project in Sydney, Australia; the Shamiya Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia; and the Areva EPP nuclear power plant in Taishan, China.

Ellis’s export sales team ranks every country in the world by market sector and potential, and is continually working its way through the list to ensure that when it expands into new countries, it expands into those ranked as the most likely to deliver on-going sales success.

Miss Brown said: "Coming out of university I was almost certain I would follow the accounting element of my degree – something that my first job as a trainee chartered accountant clearly underpinned, but when the opportunity with Ellis arose I couldn’t resist.

"It’s a role where I can really make a difference, even at such an early stage in my career - and the ambitions of the company easily match my own."