UK Export Finance (UKEF) (www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-export-finance) — the UK’s export credit agency — provided £600 million of support for manufacturing exports from April 2015 to March this year.

Its annual report and accounts show that it supported the largest number of exporters in 25 years — 23% more than the previous year — and that 77% of them were SMEs.

One company that received support was Dudley-based Glasscoat International, which manufactures machines that are used to coat glass bottles for some of the world’s biggest cosmetics and beverage brands. Last year, it won two contracts in Austria and Germany and negotiated up-front payments from UKEF to support its cash-flow.

Company founder Ian Cripps said: “Without UKEF’s support, we could not have fulfilled both contracts, so we would have had to turn one customer away. Working with UKEF meant that we were able to sell a machine in Germany and increase our revenue by £710,000.”

Gordon Welsh at UKEF said: “We are here to help make exports happen. Our support for companies like Glasscoat shows how we can help UK manufacturing businesses realise their ambitions to grow by exporting overseas.”