A clear sign that the economy is on the road to recovery has come from local automotive car parts distributor ADL, which has announced record export sales for last month.
The Asian and American car parts company, currently based in Marden but looking to relocate to Waterside Park to accommodate its on-going growth, had its first ever €2m export sales month in October.
The performance, which was a 100 per cent increase on October 2012, follows the company’s recent international success which saw it fulfill its first orders to new customers in Russia, Belarus, and Moldova in Eastern Europe, as well as Lebanon, Malaysia and Japan. These sales milestones were followed in October with the company’s first orders to Armenia, Latvia and the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.
Mark Northeast, ADL’s Managing Director, said: “The sales growth is a recognition of the quality of what we produce and distribute and shows a growing international demand. We are ahead of target to turn over £70m this year.”
Selling Asian car parts back to Asia, and specifically Japan, was a landmark deal for ADL, and its Blue Print range, which offers three years warranty on all of its replacement car parts.
Mark Northeast added: “We’ve created a great Kent team that’s able to respond quickly enabling us to open up business in new markets. It is clear our customers have confidence in the quality of the Blue Print range, which combined with the quality of our staff and services, means we continue to strengthen our position in the global marketplace.”
ADL, a subsidiary of the sixth generation German family-owned bilstein group now exports to more than 50 countries.
Currently employing nearly 240 people, ADL plans to recruit a further 150 people over the next three years. As part of its growth, ADL has submitted a planning application with fellow Marden-based company Scarab Sweepers, and Gallagher Group, to create Waterside Park, the proposed warehousing, logistics and headquarter office development for Kent businesses near Junction 8 of the M20.
Always good to hear a Kent company doing well overseas.
We’ve also noticed an upturn in the number of export shipments we handle for our clients over the last year.