SME Exporter in Rail Award Shortlisted  
First Class Safety & Control Ltd

Essex based Safety Control System specialist; FirstClass Safety & Control (FCSC) have been supplying safety control systems for over 20 years. The company was created following a management buyout of the safety control division of Beck & Pollitzer, back in 2017, and has continued to prosper and develop. The team have been working together for over 20 years, delivering first class safety control systems into various sectors including rail, petro-chemical, marine and automotive. FCSC delivered their first Rail Depot Protection System in 2002, for the Road 3 System at Siemens Old Oak Common depot and have built a reputation in the UK for high-quality cost-effective solutions for depot control and protection Overseas turnover has gone from zero in 2019 to over £2million of contract wins by the end of 2022. 2023 looks just as promising with opportunities in the Middle East, Europe and North America. The growth in overseas turnover has also allowed the business to expand, with additional staff employed and a relocation, in late 2022, to larger premises in Colchester. FirstClass Safety & Control’s export journey demonstrates how a small rail business can grow its overseas markets. The team have overcome significant challenges, including a global pandemic, to expand the business overseas, using innovation and partnering to succeed. They should be an inspiration to SMEs looking to expand overseas!

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Infinitive Group

Infinitive Group has seen impressive growth in sales, headcount, and profitability over the past year, with 50% of its revenue coming from international projects. They have launched their own graduate training programme and opened a new office, increasing their headcount by 100%. The company has been committed to expanding its exports, innovating its products and services, and investing in its team. They have developed innovative rail products and services, designed to meet the specific needs of their international customers. Infinitive Group's major international projects in 2022 were focused on the delivery of public transport systems during the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. They worked collaboratively with the Central Doha Operations Teams to deliver key outcomes such as transport supply and demand modelling, passenger and queue counting applications, and passenger flow modelling & dynamic passenger simulation. Their successful international project delivery has established them as a leader in rail product innovation, with a positive impact on their employees' career development. Infinitive Group is shortlisted for the SME Exporter in Rail Award.

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PriestmanGoode

PriestmanGoode is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading design studios working in transport today. The employee-owned design consultancy has been exporting services from the UK for 30 years. The entry in the Exporter in Rail category includes two very recent projects that have pushed boundaries and transformed the experience of travelling by train, making it more accessible and more appealing as the sustainable choice of transport over key distances.

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RS Clare 

RS Clare & Co. Ltd is a globally recognised manufacturer of advanced lubricants, supplying high-performance greases and application equipment to various markets, including Rail. RS Clare has prospered for 275 years by adapting the company, products, and services to satisfy evolving customer needs, with continuous innovation. Within the Rail sector, RS Clare have become market leaders and export to over 70 countries globally, with export sales representing 70% of the business (across all sectors, including rail). The company provides premium curved rail lubricants to major rail markets worldwide, including the UK, North America, Australia, Asia, and Europe, with leading formulations, such as its EcoCurve range of environmentally friendly greases that use unique proprietary technology and are engineered to EU Ecolabel standards, offering unrivalled environmental performance. The RS Clare EcoCurve range of curved rail lubricants, GaugeShield and TracShield application equipment have been designed to reduce the amount of time engineers need to spend on track by prolonging rail life to support safer operations and lessen maintenance costs. RS Clare continues to invest into the business to improve their export business, R&D and product development to service their customers. In recent years, the company has invested millions in a new technical centre and continues to invest in their plant facilities. In addition, RS Clare recently acquired Swiss based railway lubrication solutions provider, Igralub Holding GMBH, together with its subsidiaries across the globe. Igralub’s specialist expertise, products and systems are complementary to RS Clare’s existing rail lubrication business and partnerships.

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Semp

Owned and managed by practising Systems Engineering professionals, SEMP is an independent provider of Systems Engineering, Systems Assurance, Systems Integration, and Program Management services. SEMP was born of our founders’ conviction that a Systems Approach to capital projects would unlock additional value, leading to work of greater quality and resilience, and providing increased surety of outcomes through the reduction of technical risk. Through a systems approach, and the application of our innovative processes and tools, we facilitate the reduction and control of the key risks inherent in delivering complex new build and upgrade programmes and projects. Since SEMP was established in 2015, the company has experienced significant growth and now delivers projects in the UK, North America, the Middle East, and Australia. We work as partners to infrastructure owner clients and as integrated members of project delivery organisations to realise the ambitions of infrastructure projects around the globe. We ensure the satisfaction of our clients through the quality of our people, our delivery focus, and our values of innovation, openness, trust, and respect.

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XRAIL

As an SME and developing business delivering safety-critical technical engineering solutions in a constrained UK market, Xrail Group (Xrail) has overcome significant barriers to entry and has offices across the UK in Leeds, London, Warrington and internationally in Spain and Saudi Arabia. Utilising UK expertise and experience gained operating and maintaining Rail Infrastructure including London Underground and Docklands Light Railway, Xrail has invested significant time, effort and resources to demonstrate the best of British railway engineering can be exported internationally - successfully. Having proved, expanded and grown capability, Xrail delivers safe, innovative and efficient engineering, survey, installation, test and maintenance solutions and has built a trusted reputation as an international partner of choice. The past 12-months have been significant for Xrail: • Winning The Queen's Award for International Trade • Named a Department for International Trade Export Champion for the third year running • Turnover has increased by circa 90% • Forming a partnership agreement with Saudi Railway Polytechnic to establish an apprenticeship programme to train the next generation of signalling engineers • CEO Munir Patel chosen as chair of the new RIA Exports Leadership Group (RELG)MD Noel Travers appointed as Chairman of the Railway Division With two long-term maintenance contracts in Saudi Arabia and Spain, representing 90% of the work bank, Xrail is currently exploring other global opportunities. In supporting international high-speed networks, Xrail is developing the company capability further, which can be utilised by the Great British Railway to understand what is required to integrate, operate and maintain digital-ready high-speed rail infrastructure.

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