Commercial Export successes continue

Press, 21 August 1979, Page 18

Commercial Export successes continue

The world’s leading au-| tomotive battery producer, j the United States, has opened its doors to New Zealand-made batteries, and may become a continuing! market worth more than | 5500.00 C a year for them! after a sal = jus’ negotiated by the New Zealand Export-1 Import Coiporation. And the Lower Hutt subsidiary of a major British battery manufacturer with factories in the United States, will manufacture the four large shipping containers of the products which make up -he initial order. Chloride Batteries New Zealand, Ltd, will start next week on production of 5100 standard batteries worth more than $lOO,OOO. which it will ship out late next month to a Los Angeles tr icking firm with retail outlets throughout California. Tho initial sale which

| took two months to arrange, jwas handled by the Export- ■ Import Corporation’s New ’ Zealand trad-t centre manager in Los Angeles (Mr A. 18. Mitchell) who has since | reported that the company with which he has been dealing may have a committing requirement for up to 30,000 batteries a year from New Zealand. “Much will depend on how we handle this order and the reception the batteries get on their arrival here,” he has said from Los Angeles. “Meanwhile, there is certainly interest on the part of the company I have been dealing with in continuing to take supplies from New Zealand.” The managing director of Chloride Batteries (Mr N. M. Smith) described the initial s le to the United States as "something of a coup for

New Zealand manufacturers.” “California is such a competitive market that it was only on competitive pricing, the fact that we were able to meet tight delivery dates, that we were able to secure the order. “But v. also probably had an edge over some of the big American manufacturers because bv international

standards the initial order is not particularly large and they are geared for really big runs. “There was no problem about adjust g our factory production here to cope with it.”

The American sale follows another secured for Chloride by the New Zealand ExportImport Corporation in Venezuela last year for more than 2000 car batteries. This was negotiated by the corporation’s resident representative in Caracas (Mr W. Sommerville). M~ Mitchell, who has been stationed in Los Angeles since last October; reports growing interest inf: New Zealand products after last, year’s major Government-or-ganised New Zealand trade display. ,