East Midlands Airport helping to keep the lights on around the globe
East Midlands Airport is playing its part in keeping the bright lights on in many locations around the globe by providing vital air freight support to a local firm.
Leicestershire LED specialist business Ventola® Projects secured an incredible ‘coals-to-Newcastle’ arrangement supplying specialised lighting systems to hotels and entertainment centres in Las Vegas – a city where the night-time illuminations sell the destination to fun seekers around the world. This now extends around the world, in locations ranging from Hawaii, USA to Perth, Australia.
With royal palaces in the Middle East also among their clients, Ventola Projects has built itself up over almost four decades into a significant player in a market dominated by many overseas competitive suppliers. Ventola’s® main product is a multi-function LED system that can change from general lighting to colour-changing mood lighting or UV glow effects, popular in clubs, family entertainment centres, hotels, retail and many other leisure venues. The firm continues to build its global business as Manchester Airport Group's latest Trade Barometer results show that 49% of Midlands companies expect to increase sales to America in the first part of this year.
The firm’s Managing Director Mick Ventola (pictured) says that East Midlands Airport’s unrivalled cargo operation has played a part in his business’s success since the early days, with DHL supporting much of his business needs through his Leicestershire-based shipping agent.
“I first started as a sole trader in 1989,” he said. “We were buying in products manufactured overseas, carrying out final assembly work and shipping them out to mainly EU countries via East Midlands Airport at the time.
“By 2012 we were focusing more on the wider market, along with the build-up to Brexit raising our profile in the US and beginning to supply projects in the Middle East. A drop in sterling against the US dollar soon after Brexit in 2016 suddenly made us cost effective in the USA and we have never looked back – growing significantly since then, with manufacturing being UK based in Blaby and recently Lutterworth in Leicestershire. Our growth has now seen us supplying our VAvR LED brand in 49 of the US states and continue gaining clients in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
“Following our first initial US-based project in Portland, Maine in the spring of 2016, our first major project in the US was located in Las Vegas during the summer of 2016, supplying hotels our combined multi-effect and general white lighting system we had developed ourselves in Leicester.
“We use East Midlands Airport frequently. Most recently we sent some goods to a large family entertainment group based in Hawaii. We had seven days from the order being placed to delivery. Often it is time critical, so East Midlands’ slick cargo operation is vital.
“We have the convenience of having the scale of East Midlands Airport’s cargo facilities on our doorstep which other cities don’t have. East Midlands Airport really does help us out, there has been many a time when we get a call from a client needing something done the same day, then shipped the next day, and EMA always helps us turn it around. It is surprising how many times in a year we get something that has to be done right now, and the airport saves our bacon.”