A SILO discharge machine (SDM) denied entry to Russia after being exported from Middlesbrough has now been successfully delivered, thanks to last-minute help from overseas trade specialist, Chamber International.

German businessman, Peter Gasch, who recently acquired Louise Engineering with a colleague, flew from Germany to meet export advisers at Chamber International for help in reducing heavy costs imposed by the delivery company after Russian customs stopped them entering the country due to insufficient paperwork relating to the SDM’s origin.

Louise Engineering had specified the SDM and sub-contracted construction and delivery to a Polish manufacturer for the customer, a privately-owned cement plant in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region, but Russian customs officials wanted documentary confirmation that it was an EU product before allowing it across the border.

After meeting with Louise Engineering’s joint managing partner, Peter Gasch, to discuss the order, specification and the different stages of the SDM’s manufacture, Chamber International advisers applied EU origin tests to determine that the SDM was an EU product and issued a Certificate of Origin which was accepted by Russian customs officials who released the consignment for delivery.

Mr Gasch said: "Confirmation of the origin was insisted upon at the last minute during packaging and, as the forwarder had already been instructed and paid, we had not had time to look at this.

"I flew from Germany to Chamber International through Manchester Airport and met their advisers who carried out a thorough analysis of the paperwork to understand the manufacturing processes and the value added at different stages of production. They knew exactly what was needed and saved me hundreds of pounds in costs for the delayed vehicles. We were very impressed."

Chamber International director, Tim Bailey, said: "It can be an expensive mistake to ship something without first checking that you’ve detailed the origin of the goods. Louise Engineering did the right thing by acting so quickly. Customs sometimes order consignments to be returned in such situations and that can be disastrous for exporters."

The order was among the first fulfilled by Louise Engineering since the company, originally founded in 1970, was acquired by Mr Gasch, a German and his Ukrainian colleague, Mykola Popovych, who were previously senior managers at medium-sized companies in the same field in Germany and Poland.

The company designs and specifies bulk handling materials technology to meet specific customer requirements and outsources manufacture to specialists around the world with a key consideration being close to the customer for easy transportation.

The company marks its 50th anniversary in 2020, and plans to hire five more more staff, particularly engineers and software designers, to regenerate the company as a global business by extending its product range

Chamber International, based in Bradford, helps hundreds of new and experienced exporters throughout the UK with a wide range of specialist services to make exporting easier and more cost effective.