Exporter extraordinaire:
how the Department for International Trade helped Stiltz achieve international success
Stiltz Homelifts has blazed a trail in the accessible living arena, creating the market for domestic lifts which simply was not there before the brand was developed. Just over a decade later the home lift manufacturer is a business success not only here in the UK but is an impressive force in the export market, sold in over 50 countries. We look at how the Department of International Trade (DIT) helped with this export journey and highlight other impressive successes along the way.
Established by Australian duo, Lachlan Faulkner and Cameron Gillespie, Stiltz Homelifts immediately recognised many senior and disabled people were craving independence and wanted to remain in their own homes. In 2011 the Duo Classic Homelift was the first Stiltz domestic lift to be sold to a UK customer and the assisted living revolution began.
Exports have always been important to the business model. The home lift founders reached out to the DIT before they came to the UK, so once they were established in the UK, they immediately began to work with an International Trade Advisor (ITA) on developing the international strategy. “We’ve had invaluable help opening up new export markets and guidance on the challenges following the UK’s exit from the EU,” says Lachlan.
A dedicated Stiltz Homelifts export team drives growth, which has increased by 50 per cent in the last three years. Their efforts have been rewarded with an array of awards including the Lloyds Bank Business Award for Export and a position on the SME Export Track Listing, the FT1000 list of Europe’s fastest-growing companies plus the Virgin Fast Track and the HSBC International Track.
A win in the International Trade category of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2020, was made all the more poignant in early 2022 when the late Queen Elizabeth II had a Stiltz Homelift installed at the Balmoral Estate. Mike Lord CEO of Stiltz Homelifts commented on what an honour this was for a relatively young company. He is also keen to offer up advice for businesses looking to grow their exports. “Stiltz believes in investing in a good team of people,” he says. “It is so important to trust in the capabilities of others, just as we have done with our export team. They have been fundamental to our rapid growth across the world.”
Believing in themselves, seeking guidance and empowering others has created the domestic lift market and the export success Stiltz Homelifts now enjoys.