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Solar firm wins major deal
Leif Hitton MD of Micha
A VALE solar energy firm has completed its biggest export order to date worth £430,000 to a global company.
Aylesbury’s Micha Design Company, designers and manufacturers of electronic controllers for the solar industry, has delivered an order of 318 controllers and display units to Tenesol, a rapidly expanding global operator in the field of solar energy.
This contract is a big opportunity for the company, which employs 22 people at its Bridgegate Business Park factory, to develop further business in international markets, and was made possible as a result of gaining support from its banking partners, NatWest.
Talking about the contract, Leif Hytten, managing director at the firm, said: “As a company approaching the £1million turnover mark, this is a very significant contract win for us.
“As with any large order it does put a strain on your finances as you fulfil the requirements, but we moved quickly to arrange the funding support with NatWest.
“On the back of this successful completion we are now speaking to other international suppliers as well as Tenesol to build on further opportunities.
“It was a nice order to receive, and we were really lucky to have been chosen by Tenesol as their preferred supplier.
“We have a pretty niche market however, in that we are the only company of our skill that can handle special jobs with special equipment, as we make bespoke controllers.
“We are able to tailor our equipment to the buyer’s needs.”
To fund the contract, the company’s banking partners NatWest put in place funding using the government’s export enterprise finance guarantee.
This loan guarantee scheme is aimed specifically at small and medium enterprises seeking short-term export finance facilities.
Phil Milton, senior relationship manager for commercial banking at NatWest, said: “Traditionally, Micha Design has export figures representing 65 per cent of its turnover.
“But with the quality of its products and now with support to deliver on large scale orders, new opportunities are available in both international and domestic markets.”
Micha Design was formed in 1986 offering design and pcb manufacturing to local customers. They design electronic components for a wide range of applications. In the early 1990s they entered the solar market.
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