WHAT happens when your newly launched business immediately wins customers from across the globe? According to Nico Rogerson, chairman of Aigis, a company that makes material that protects against bomb blasts: “You learn fast.”

Aigis makes and sells Tabre, which absorbs bomb blasts and can be used to coat buildings, vehicles and even shoes. After the company was formed in 2002, it quickly secured contracts with police forces and companies in France, Australia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Japan and Brunei to supply orders including blast-proof boxes for airport scanning machines, boots for soldiers working in landmine areas and detonator containment units. The material, which diffuses the gases and heat from an explosion, disintegrates into a harmless, sand-like material when a bomb explodes.

“More than 90 per cent of our orders now come from overseas,” Rogerson says. This year the company expects to triple its 2005 turnover of £1.7 million, although it may be another year before the company makes a profit. “We had a deficit of £200,000 last year, but we also ploughed £500,000 into the business to improve marketing and fund more research and development, something we will continue to do.”

Raising more capital has not been difficult. Aigis received £2.6 million in funding from a venture capital trust and private equity last year.

However, businesses that need more government support to improve their export opportunities may not be so lucky. In 2004, the Treasury said that it would cut the trade and investment budget, which is aimed at helping exporters of all sizes, by 12 per cent by 2008.

Emmeline Owens, head of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, says: “Exports are vital to the economy and to businesses looking to grow, but export support is also vital. The Government is curbing export promotion activity just when there is a slowdown in exports and businesses are having to compete with rivals in other countries.”

One way for a company to enter the overseas market is to set up a website. This has helped about 80 per cent of small businesses in Britain to find new customers, while more than half have extended their reach abroad because of the internet, a recent survey by BT and the Institute of Directors found.

Rogerson says that the high level of exports enjoyed by Aigis was due in large part to the company’s website, although the business had not specifically targeted overseas customers. However, Aigis is building on these contacts.

Setting up a website may sound simple, but experts say that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must ensure that the business and its products are properly represented if a company wants to attract customers.

Maurice Byford, of Mode Solutions, a website consultancy, says: “The most common mistake firms make is trying to sell the company online, rather than its products. The other is to spend a fortune. There is no point in spending lots of money on nice imagery, as visitors are primarily interested in information; but the site does need to instill confidence, so it needs to look professional.”

Rogerson agrees: “Small businesses like ours cannot spend a fortune going overseas from scratch, but we can now afford to be proactive because we can build on the relationships we already have.”

Aigis plans to set up an office in France, where it has a contract with the national military police to supply grenade carriers. America presents a different challenge. “The US is an enormous marketplace,” Rogerson says, “and our feeling is that a small firm like ours needs to partner-up with a large company that can provide infrastructure and a route to market.”

Aigis is also determined not to neglect Britain. “Unlike other parts of the world, the UK has a history of dealing with bombs and therefore has a different protocol — one which doesn’t embrace new technology,” Rogerson says. “We aim to change that.”