Worcester camping equipment company wins Queen's Award

Published by

Nicky Godding

Worcester camping equipment specialist, OLPRO, has been named the winner of the Queen's Award for Enterprise – International Trade 2021.

The Worcestershire-based camping brand has been recognised as a retail success story due to its turnover consistently increasing each year, despite the UK’s recent struggles in retail. In fact, OLPRO’s increased international sales has enabled the business to nearly double its turnover and double the number of staff it employs within the last 12 months.

Despite the initial impact of Brexit, exports account for 12% of OLPRO's turnover and the company’s current focus is to grow international sales even further. The business has seen an increased demand for its camping products internationally and sold products to a total of 29 different countries in the last year.

The majority of OLPRO’s sales come from the northern hemisphere, with many products being sold to the USA, Germany and France. The camping brand used the last 12 months as an opportunity to build its international presence further and the company’s website is now available in nearly 100 different languages.

2020 was a record-breaking year for OLPRO who saw a 98% increase in orders year on year, as well as a 49% increase in the number of visitors to its website.

Daniel Walton, Founder of OLPRO, said: “We're absolutely delighted to be announced as the winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise - International Trade 2021. I think this award recognises the exceptional interest in our brand and innovative products, but it also represents how people across the globe have shown a growing interest in camping and enjoying the great outdoors."

"This year we are celebrating our 10th year in business and I'm so pleased with how we've been able to grow our company significantly during this time. But more importantly, we’re proud to be a business that really gives back to the community and we will continue to use our successes as an opportunity to help and support local communities, charities and CSR initiatives.”

At the start of 2021, OLPRO launched its new tree-planting initiative where the business plants one tree for each OLPRO tent and awning sold. The initiative is a major part of the company's sustainability and environmental plans and is expected to lead to the planting of tens of thousands of trees within the first year, moving OLPRO towards its carbon neutral ambition.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.