Charles Wells and the Queen's Award for Export
Charles Wells has won the Queen's Award for Export. We attended the presentation ceremony.
Charles Wells is one of the biggest independent brewers in the UK, yet in the past it has failed to win the column inches Her Majesty thinks it deserves.
Elizabeth II has done her best to redress this by awarding the Queen's Award to the Bedford company.
She sent her top man in Bedfordshire - Lord Lieutenant Sam Whitbread (the significance of his name and past life was not lost) - to present the award last week.
It was the first time this prestigious award has been won by an independent brewer.
No stranger to brewing, Whitbread told a gathering of brewery staff, management and guests: "The Queen's Award for Export Achievement has been won by all those in quality control, production, distribution, packaging, marketing, assembly and customer service."
Perhaps inadvertently, he hinted strongly at the real reasons for the Charles Wells success.
Managers have found new markets in Europe and North America. Where there has been success, the company shouts it loudly. But where there has be failure, the company is no less open about it.
Export manager John James said: "Things have been a little difficult in the United States. The market there is extremely competitive because of the micro-brewers.
"But we hope to gain a strong foothold once this starts to die down."
More successfully, the company has penetrated Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Ireland, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Russia, New Zealand and Canada.
One of the criteria for Queen's Award entries is demonstrable volume sales increases over several years. Charles Wells' overseas sales are up 250 per cent on 1994.
James added: "The key to our success is being small enough to establish a close relationship with our customers. We work closely with our agents and distributors."
He added that business partners were invited to meet one of the Wells family involved with the brewery. "This counts for a lot - they can't meet a Mr Guinness," James said. John Wells is chairman, Paul Wells is sales director and Tom Wells is PR director.
The company also sends bar staff abroad to train them in how to keep and serve brands such as Bombardier - the firm's chief export ale.
"We want it to taste as good here as it does in Spain," said James, who became the company's first dedicated full-time export manager in 1989. Previously, the work had been handled by John Wells and a series of external account handlers.
Part of the close working relationship is dealing with clients in their own language. John Wells speaks fluent Italian. The company teaches relevant managers numerous languages in its on-site training centre.
Widgets have been removed from cans after trials showed it affected the taste.
The first consignments left for the US and Italy as recently as 1979. Prior to this, the common view was that Johnny Foreigner just wouldn't drink English bitter.
Bitter brands Fargo, Old Bedford Ale and Bowman are also exported.
