Innovative Exporter Wins Top Accolades
15 December 2023
Quality Bearings Online wins national awards for export service and employment culture
It takes vision and dedication to change become a successful exporter, and it takes even more to re-imagine your way of doing business, within a traditional industry. But Quality Bearings Online has done both.
Co-founders Denny Maude and Simon Riley were not the first business to sell bearings online. When they set up QBOL in 2012, they did this with the aim of transforming the customers’ experience, and setting new standards for excellence in customer service, but export markets were not top of their agenda.
All that began to change when, in autumn of that year, their small office in Leeds received a surprise enquiry from a ferry operator in the Caribbean. The need was urgent – their ferry was out of action, effectively cutting off the population of one island, until replacement bearings could be fitted. Chamber International was on hand to help this first-time exporter get the goods to the customer quickly, and get paid.
Around ten years later, 90 percent of QBOL’s turnover comes from export sales. With customers in 110 countries, the team, now 22 in number, pride themselves in being able to deliver their wide range of industrial bearings, engineering spares and technologically advanced lubricants to anywhere in the world, in one to three days. The company’s key overseas market regions include the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, where they service demanding customers in the industrial supplies, manufacturing, oil and gas, mining, aerospace and defence sectors.
In recognition of their export excellence, QBOL received the Queen's Award for Enterprise for International Trade in 2022, and has won numerous trade awards, including being named Export Team of the Year at the Northern Powerhouse Export Awards.
Business Development Executive, Liam Doyle joined the company eight years ago, so has seen and been part of this amazing story. For him, this year’s highlight was when the company was honoured as Employer of the Year at the Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards. “It was amazing to be there at Grosvenor House in London, and to be chosen above so many big-name companies”, he said. “We’ve worked hard to make Quality Bearings Online a company that people want to work at, and don’t want to leave. Our staff retention is really high.”
Sarah Austin, Director of British Business Excellence Awards, commented: “Quality Bearings Online has created a culture of learning and personal development, not only nurturing ambition, but demonstrating how best use of technology can help employers to upskill for the future and scale profitability. They’re recruiting from outside the sector for diversity of ideas to drive innovation and also investing in talent for long-term loyalty and growth - this is why they are truly deserving of this honour.”
To provide even better service to overseas customers, the company has hired Spanish and French-speaking staff, and another is learning Chinese. “Traditionally, selling bearings was just about the cheapest price”, says Doyle, “but to our customers, speed of delivery and quality service are much more important”.
Achieving such fast deliveries requires a strong understanding of export processes, and efficient trust partnerships. As an example, Liam cited the need for special documents when exporting into some Middle Eastern countries. “We couldn’t do it without Chamber International. Having their mark on the paper gives us the credibility we need with the authorities, to get through the process fast”.
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