Naylor Industries is a Yorkshire family business, founded in 1890 as a manufacturer of clay sewer pipes

As CEO of a business that won the 2015 EEF Outstanding Export Award and which has sold products into 65 different overseas markets, Edward Naylor is well-placed to share his insight into operating in the ASEAN region.

Global Presence

Naylor has exported to 65 countries globally but some of its greatest success has been in Southeast Asia. The company’s products are now well-established in Singapore and Brunei and recent years have seen Naylor widening its foothold across one of the world’s fastest-growing regions, with other countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia showing good early promise.

“We see huge potential in ASEAN; it is already one of our most important regions. Whilst the various ASEAN members are all at different stages of infrastructure development, economic and population growth will inevitably drive significant further investment” says Naylor.

“We struggled with local competition when we first started exporting, but the development of more specialised products has allowed us to target higher value opportunities and develop strong market positions based on product performance rather than price.”

Local Presence

In what is a diverse region, with a significant mix of languages and cultures, a vital element of Naylor’s strategy has been establishing a local presence. Naylor has appointed a locally based Technical Manager for the Southeast Asian region, James Luk, who is multi-lingual and versed in the local business culture as well as the technology governing Naylor’s products.

“As with any market, it’s about people and having someone with language skills and cultural knowledge is a terrific asset. We saw the benefit at a recent trade show, where James was able to converse in Mandarin with some important Chinese contractors,” says Naylor.

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