AWI celebrates ‘Indian express’ as it achieves record export sales

One of the Black Country’s fastest growing exporters has achieved another major milestone by recording its best-ever year of trade with India. Alloy Wire International (AWI), a specialist supplier of round, flat and profile wire, sent more than £650,000 of material to customers in Indian subcontinent over the past 12 months – a 50% increase since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With this growth, India now accounts for nearly 10% of the firm’s overseas sales and marks a 45-year working relationship with local agent Amit Banerjee. During this time, the Kolkata-based representative has built up a strong customer base that is now rapidly expanding thanks to increased interest from spring, valve and fastener manufacturers serving high-end automotive, aerospace and energy sectors, such as oil and gas. These clients are looking for full traceability, repeatable quality and quick industry-lead times, as ordering is increasingly becoming shorter to meet just-in-time requirements.

“A lot of our export success has been built on finding the right partner on the ground, one who understands the material we supply and the unique services we offer, including three-week turnaround times,” explains Tom Mander, Managing Director of AWI. “We then collectively use their expertise and contacts on the ground. The relationship we have with Amit is a perfect example of this. It’s one of our longest-standing agent agreements and, after 45 years, is getting stronger than ever with sales increasing rapidly.”

He adds: “Last year we did over £650,000 of revenue and, this time around, I believe we can surpass that figure. Indian customers are working with some of the biggest OEMs in the world and need to make sure their components are on time and perform to the highest of standards. That’s where we come in.”

AWI, which recently took on an additional 8000 sq ft unit near its headquarters in the West Midlands, manufactures round, flat and profile wire in 62 exotic alloys, such as Inconel, Monel, Hastelloy, Nimonic and Waspaloy.

The company has broadly welcomed the recent Indian trade deal announced by Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, believing it will support the sectors that drive the most growth for the UK economy, with tariffs cut in aerospace, automotive and electrical machinery – all potentially benefitting customers who purchase wire from AWI.

“We don’t always know who the end user is for our materials,” continues Tom. “However, I’m fairly confident that we’re already supplying some of the 26 British companies who have secured new business in the Indian aerospace market. There’s an appetite from both sides for closer relationships and we’re definitely going to invest in increasing our presence in this territory.”

Amit Banerjee concludes: “AWI’s reputation for quality and material performance is really making waves in India. My customers also really appreciate the technical service it provides, including working with them on identifying the right alloys and the post-finishing processes we may need to apply.

“The first 45 years have been very good, but this is just the start. With closer ties between the two countries, I can only see this relationship going from strength to strength.”