T HE county is bucking the national trend and exporting more of its products with one company investing £800,000 on increasing its sales and creating new jobs.
According to the Government's export organisation UK Trade and Investment, the region saw a 3.5 per cent growth in overseas sales year-on-year compared to a disappointing reduction of 0.1 per cent in the UK as a whole.
Gloucester-based Prima Dental, a dental bur or drill manufacturer, is investing £700,000 in high-performance machinery at its plant at Waterwells Business Park in Quedgeley. This will enable it to manufacture 1.2million more products annually.
A further £100,000 is being invested in trials of robotics to increase automation. The company will be recruiting seven additional staff, including machine operators.
The workforce in Gloucester is expected to grow to almost 140 in the next year.
Prima Dental now exports to more than 100 countries with growing markets in the USA, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
Richard Muller, managing director of Prima Dental, said: "The first half of 2013 has been exceptional for us and I am delighted to say we are on track for another record trading year.
"All our major markets continue to grow and we are seeing an unprecedented pipeline of orders."
He added: "We're feeling very positive about our export position and are pushing forward with plans for joint ventures and other trading initiatives in countries like India and Brazil.
"This pilot trial of automation via robotics represents another step forward in enhancing productivity and product quality."
UKTI regional director Russell Jones said: "The latest statistics are great news. Exporting is a proven way of growing the South West economy, bringing wealth and jobs."
Tomorrow the UKTI is hosting the GREAT Weeks Roadshow at Cheltenham Racecourse with export experts providing first-hand experience.
Speakers include Diane Savory, former chief operating officer at SuperGroup and now chairman of GFirstLEP. Registration closes at 11am today.