‘In two years we’ve grown from 10 key markets to 30,’ started Tom, ‘and the resulting impact on our day to day business has been our greatest challenge.

‘Certain markets have very specific requirements, so we tailor our offering; we can’t just sell existing lines to all new markets.

‘Managing customer expectations is very important and we work hard to build a strong relationship. We added a lot of new markets this year, but it’s only stage one,’ he said. ‘The first year is crucial and we do our best to start the partnership off on the right foot. We give as much product training as possible at an early stage and communicate the product positioning.’

We went on to discuss Scanstrut’s challenges and opportunities. ‘Some markets are slower than others and some markets require different approaches. We recently generated a lot of interest at the Dubai Boat Show and the UAE market is emerging as one of the biggest opportunities for growth. To capitalise on this we’ll need to adopt a more hands-on relationship building style for the UAE market. We’re also in the process of receiving orders and interest from Japan and India which are exciting developments.’

We ended by looking ahead to Scanstrut’s biggest challenges and the importance of R&D. ‘R&D is also vital in achieving rapid growth, he finished. ‘We work closely with electronics brands and our distributors for feedback on new products and are adding to our design team to keep up with the demand in power, sail and superyacht. Our latest product, a self-levelling radar mount for sailboats, was developed in close liaison with our distributors and, as a direct result, is selling extremely well.’