RS Clare

Founded in 1748, R S Clare can lay claim to being Merseyside’s longest established manufacturer, with a formidable 264 years in trading. The £23m turnover Group based in Liverpool, enjoys demand from around the world for its speciality greases and surface coatings and has successfully targeted a range of sectors including upstream oil and gas, rail, marine, automotive and steel.

However, with so much growth overseas, commercial director Noel Patterson also wanted to focus on the domestic UK market and, in particular, the Maritime Industry.

“We already had some longstanding links to maritime businesses in the region,” said Mr Patterson, “but the extensive networks Mersey Maritime has created through its European Regional Development Fund programmes proved invaluable in getting us straight to the key decision makers. As a result, we are now working on a number of business opportunities we may otherwise have missed.”

Mr Patterson said R S Clare’s sales team knew which products they most wanted to promote and the markets they wanted to target. Mersey Maritime were, in turn, able to suggest relevant companies from within the local supply chain network that might benefit from using their products.

Using Mersey Maritime’s wide network of contacts, R S Clare set up meetings with locally based ship owners and ship management companies to discuss how the company’s BIMAGRIP anti-skid surfacing product could provide significant safety benefits aboard their vessels. This high friction surface solution is applied to steel ramps and roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) vehicle decks of ships to enhance the safe loading and discharge of vehicle and pedestrian traffic in port. They also met with port operator Peel Ports to discuss R S Clare’s range of marine lubricant solutions for use on port based machinery and equipment such as wire ropes; anchors and moorings; roller bearings and open gears.

Mr Patterson said the work of Mersey Maritime acts like a dynamo driving business growth.

“Mersey Maritime’s ERDF supported programme has already provided tremendous benefits to maritime sector SMEs. The team’s role in creating effective networks that bring together local businesses has certainly given us a greater knowledge and awareness of what expertise and products exist on Merseyside, and with that, a greater opportunity to build our local supply chain. This kind of support can make a significant difference in helping smaller firms to survive and thrive.”

How Can I Access this Support?

To find out how your business could benefit from ERDF funding through the Maritime Sector Development Programme, call Mersey Maritime on 0151 647 4747 or email Tim Morgan on: tim.morgan@merseymaritime.co.uk