SPECIALIST CNC machine manufacturer Marchant Dice has secured a £1.35 million contract to supply precision components to a customer in China, quadrupling its annual turnover and extending its export markets even further.

This latest order adds to the list of international markets to which the Torrington-based company exports 60% of its production, including countries in the former Soviet Union, across Eastern Europe and the rest of the world.

Managing director Kevin Marchant said that much of the company's export success was due to internet marketing on its own top-rated eBay shop at marchantdice.com.

Mr Marchant said: "The main advantage is that most people now speak English, although Google and eBay can convert this into a customer's own language. Bureaucracy can sometimes be a problem, but you've just got to get your head around this."

Kevin added that Business Link had helped the company find new markets by introducing more diverse ideas. "You want as many ideas as you can get, as one of them just might work," he explained.

Formed in June, 2003, after the closure of Thompson IBL in Barnstaple, Marchant Dice quickly established itself as a sourcing agent in the CNC linear product market. The company's core activities are the manufacture of medium and small XYZ CNC milling machines, routers, linear tables and components for educational, rapid prototype and light industrial applications. Its reputation for precision products and service has enabled it to develop a worldwide customer base.

Based on Hatchmoor Industrial Estate, Marchant Dice employs four full-time staff while drawing on a pool of experienced workers as required. It is moving to a new unit to quadruple its space in line with expansion plans and is currently liaising with local schools with a view to taking on an apprentice.