Please tell us a bit about the company and why you are at ACHEMA?
European Spray Dry Technologies is the only UK spray dry manufacturer that's now left.
The company has been going for about nine years. We do work all over the world, from South East Asia to Australia; with lots of work in the United States, Western Europe and the UK.
Two years ago, we introduced a range of pilot scale dryers, but we haven't done any sort of global exhibition before. We've now also got these units which really are ideal for displaying on an exhibition stand.
What products are you showcasing this week?
We’re highlighting our whole range.
We got a big graphic up here on our stand to demonstrate one of the medium size spray drying systems we offer, and then we've got a video on the wall with some of the largest systems, that are worth up to four or five million pounds.
What do you think makes the company and your products unique?
As mentioned, we are the only UK spray dry manufacture. I think that makes us unique.
In terms of spray dryer manufacturers, I think we have a unique position in the marketplace, where the market is mainly dominated by the large multinational spray drying companies. They're at one end of the market. Then at the other end of the market we have the Indian and Chinese manufacturers who are offering extremely cost-effective solutions, but as far as customers in a lot of regions of the world are concerned, they come with an amount of risk.
We're probably positioned in the middle of that - we can offer 15 to 20% saving when compared to the multinationals, but with very similar quality to them and without introducing that level of risk.
What are you hoping to get out of ACHEMA this week?
Obviously, the main reason for being here is to try and generate business and to try to find live leads, or to have live leads find you.
But one of the things that we've noticed more than anything, is that a lot of people have come and they've just taken information and literature. It's about us gaining visibility, because we are a small – we’re only 16 people!
We turned over about £6 million this last year, we're hoping to do around about £10 million this year. Our market visibility isn't that great - we're well known within our existing customers and within the UK, but outside of that we're not. So, this has really been an opportunity to get our brand and our products out there to a much wider global audience.