Crawley firm Avtura land £5k prize to help export idea fly higher

A CRAWLEY airport ground handling expert has been crowned the winner of the South East’s Export for Growth prize, receiving £5,000 of support from leading business firms to boost worldwide sales.

Avtura, based in West Sussex, has created a tool to help airlines and airports manage aircraft turnaround more efficiently, reducing costs and environmental impact.

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The Real-Time Aviation Turnaround Tool (RATT) helps to reduce delays and costs and ensure a safe airside operating environment, lowering carbon emissions by reducing the time an aircraft spends on taxiways.

Christopher Meeking, CEO of Avtura, said: “It’s fantastic to be chosen as the winner. The help and support on offer from UK Trade and Investment, PricewaterhouseCoopers and HSBC will enable us to grow our export business. Already 97 per cebt of our market is international and this will enable us to focus our sales and marketing in key growth markets including North and Latin America, China and India.”

The nine finalists went head-to-head to pitch their export idea to an audience of more than 50 influential business leaders at Wentworth Golf Club.

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The panel of judges included Lewis Scott, regional director for UKTI, Mark Garrity, HSBC’s international commercial manager, Andrew Latham, a partner at PwC and Iain Brown, UKTI’s international trade mentor.

Mr Scott added: “Avtura just edged the top spot with their potential for international sales and we looking forward to working with them. Exporting is crucial for firms to sustain their business and grow which is why we urge all South East companies to take advantage of the support and opportunities out there.”

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