Atritor's manufacturing facility is buzzing these days with the machining and assembly of large scale drying and pulverising machines and systems for export.

The photos show the Atritor 20A Dryer-Pulveriser being built for a German specialty mineral producer and being supplied as part of a complete turnkey processing system all engineered by Atritor in Coventry.

Similar orders are also being processed for a number of locations in China, Brazil, France, Belgium and Holland, not forgetting orders won against tight international competition for UK customers.

During the lean years Atritor has taken advantage of the support offered through the local Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce to assist with international exhibitions which have proved invaluable in maintaining Atritor's presence in the market place. It is important to keep this international profile even when it seems that potential customers have suspended capital expenditure. Then, when they decide to invest, our name is in the frame.

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A Coventry company has been reaping the benefits of its 'textbook' use of the Chamber of Commerce's Business Link service. Atritor, of Edgwick Park Industrial Estate, sought assistance a number of times from the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber's International Trade Team in recent years.

The company specialises in drying, milling, coating and classifying powders - from minerals and chemicals to cocoa and the micronising of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The company came into being in the 1920s and now has more than 2000 plants worldwide.

Atritor's Sales Director George Milburn said that with the Chamber's help, the company had secured substantial business in Holland, Germany and France as well as orders from eastern Europe, China and South America.

"Whenever an export grant becomes available, we try to make sure we make the most from it. Raising awareness of your product overseas is difficult - it requires attendance at time-consuming exhibitions, production of foreign language leaflets and so on.

But support from the Chamber has helped us to secure more lucrative orders in Holland, France and Germany. The contacts we have been able to build up from international exhibitions and the leads these have given us have been very useful."

He said he was in no doubt about the importance of international trade to Atritor.

"I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that we would probably not still be in business if it was not for our foreign trade. But then, a company founded by an international machine tool company such as Alfred Herbert would expect to set its sights globally. When the domestic market slows down, which is inevitable, it is reassuring to know that you still have the chance to sell your products elsewhere."

Milburn said the company's dealings in the Far East had remained unaffected by the SARS epidemic earlier this year: "We had to postpone a couple of meetings, but they have gone ahead now and everything is still running smoothly."

Mark Eaton, Chamber International Trade Team, said: "Encouraging and supporting our businesses as they trade internationally is making sure they are realising their full potential and that they have enough irons in the fire to survive lean periods. Atritor has used the Chamber's facilities in a textbook way - our grants have complemented the procedures the company already had in place. However, we also cater for those who are looking to take the first steps into international trade, with a host of overseas trade missions each year."