Lord Jones was visiting companies in Gateshead and Newcastle at the invitation of UK Trade & Investment's North East region. UK Trade & Investment is the government's international business development organisation.
The minister visited Davy Roll in Gateshead, where they employ 292 people, supplying cast rolling mill rolls. More than three-quarters of its products are exported each year. The company won a Queen's Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category in 2007. Davy Roll executives have worked closely with UK Trade & Investment to identify and access new markets around the world.
Lord Jones also held a lunchtime meeting with Northern Defence Industries, the organisation that represents more than 200 regional SMEs in the defence and aerospace industry, which contributes some £2 billion per year to the regional economy and secures more than 20,000 jobs.
He also visited Orla Protein Technologies, based in Newcastle. Orla Protein Technologies is a nano-biotechnology company that was spun-out of the University of Newcastle in 2001.
It is now a world leader in an aspect of biotechnology called protein-engineering. The technology is enabling the convergence of materials and electronics with biotechnology.
Orla's new technique allows more accurate detection of bacteria, viruses or proteins in blood. Under a new deal with leading Japanese electronics manufacturer Japan Radio Co LTd (JRC), Orla's technology will be incorporated into diagnostic devices, which can be used by doctors and paramedics to perform near patient testing. Without the requirement for complex equipment, a test could be performed at a patient's bedside rather than in a laboratory, resulting in earlier and more effective treatment for patients.
UK Trade & Investment helped the company establish an export plan and helped them join UK Trade & Investment's R&D programme, which puts them in touch with specialist business development advisers and highlights good examples of R&D.
Lord Jones said: "All these companies know that to succeed they must make use of all the opportunities globalisation offers. They also need a skilled workforce. We cannot compete with economies like China and India on price alone but what these two companies prove is that we can compete with them on quality.
"Davy Roll has invested in its workforce and its production facilities and it is reaping the rewards.
"It shows that high-class, bespoke, innovative, manufacturing is alive and well in the north east, selling brand Britain around the world.
"Orla Protein is exactly the sort of company that the region should be proud of. It is innovative and the university is helping to produce a skilled workforce and provide entrepreneurial companies in the region's economy."
Steven Bell, Managing Director at the Davy Roll Company Ltd, said: "We are delighted that Davy Roll can demonstrate that traditional heavy engineering companies can be successful in today's global market if they invest wisely and use the skills of their workforce to produce high quality products."
Trevor Harrison, Group Managing Director of NDI, said: "Defence exports help sustain key UK industrial capabilities. Lord Jones' visit to NDI is particularly timely, following the recent transfer of responsibility for UK defence exports from DESO to the new UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation (UKTI DSO).
"This development provides our member companies with tremendous opportunities, and will enable them to play an important role in the UK's continuing success in a fiercely competitive global market."
Dale Athey, CEO of Orla Protein Technologies Ltd, said: "We have shown that when leading edge science and technology, good products and people are combined with quality support, we can compete on the world stage."
