THE success in overseas trade at a North Yorkshire bus manufacturer was marked with Secretarial visit as the firm welcomes orders from New Zealand and Dubai.

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for International Trade), Graham Stuart visited Sherburn in Elmet-based bus firm Optare earlier this week.

The visit was especially organised in recognition of the company’s strong export growth.

Recent successes for Optare include a £21 million order for 114 of its Metrocity buses for New Zealand as well as a £17 million order for 94 of its Solo buses for Dubai.

The firm also had two bespoke Solo buses serving hospital routes in Hong Kong in 2017 with further orders expected to follow off the back of their success.

Optare says it has won these orders by offering a range of “unique and class leading solutions2 to its customers in each of these markets.

Graham Stuart, Trade Minister, said: “It’s fantastic to see the work of Optare as it looks to expand its presence abroad, after recently winning contracts in New Zealand and Dubai.”

The Optare international team includes strong dealer partners in every territory.

Bus Corp Oceania represents the company in Australia and New Zealand, with Swaidan Trading in Dubai and Confidence Motors joining in Hong Kong.

Optare says its partners “bring world class levels of service and commitment” to compliment the company’s innovative products throughout their service lives.

Richard Butler, chief Executive of Optare, which employs a team of 350 people, said: “This is a significant step for Optare in our international export strategy and signals the start of the exciting growth opportunities available to us in Australasia, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

“Our innovative lightweight design is delivering annual savings in fuel and operating costs, which over time are very significant benefits for businesses.

“With the support of the Department for International trade we look forward to continuing to expand the product reach into new international markets.”

As an international economic department, the Department for International Trade is able to provide sector specialist expertise and a global network across 108 countries which is ready to help UK companies to take advantage of the ever-growing global demand for high quality British products.

The Optare group PLC is part of Ashok Leyland, one of the top four global bus producers, and part of the Hinduja Group.

Its award-winning range of buses feature an integral design and efficient diesel engines.