A HYTHE based company is taking its place at the high table of export success.

Gopak, based in Range Road, is the UK market leader in design, manufacture and supply of lightweight aluminium folding tables.

Over the past year the company has been working closely with Business Link Kent to boost overseas exports and is now selling to customers in France, Germany, Belgium, Holland and the United States.

Joint managing director Andrew Fieldwick said: "We'd been working with a distributor in France for about 15 years but were not getting repeat business.

"A lot of it was down to the fact that the account was not being managed as effectively as it could be."

As part of the partnership with Business Link the company has taken part in the Access Europe programme, designed to get Kent companies trading in new markets across the channel.

Project manager Valerie Pondaven said: "Among the changes I helped put in place was to have the Gopak product guide distributed in three different catalogues all over France.

"I went with them to a major trade exhibition in Paris. I also attended meetings to help negotiate in French, to overcome cultural and language differences, and get the best from their distributor.

"In the first two months of 2003 Gopak did £20,000 of trade through their French distributor, as much as they did in the whole of 2002."

The company also received help from international business adviser, David Bax, under the Passport to Export scheme.

Gopak national and international sales manager Tony Ash said: "At the start of the process Business Link Kent helped us develop a strategy for boosting sales overseas and it's working well.

"We went on a trade mission to Stuttgart and have had a lot of help with producing new literature and getting our website translated into French and German.

"We have also been helped with the costs of travel and have recently been accredited as an Investor in People.

"We're comfortably going to do a six figure sum overseas this year."