A DROITWICH company has taken its first order from the United Arab Emirates - helped by UK Trade & Investment.

Nexus DMS Ltd, of Lovett Road, Hampton Lovett, makes electrically-powered care beds.

These lift, lower and adjust for the user's back and legs and reduce the risk of strain injuries for carers.

The beds are extensively used for nursing homes, residential homes and for community care in people's homes.

Before contacting UK Trade & Investment in January 2004, the company, which was set up in 1991 and has seven employees, had not sold any beds overseas, as it had concentrated on developing its UK business first.

Now Nexus DMS has joined UK Trade & Investment's passport initiative - a flagship scheme that gives new exporters the training, planning and ongoing support they need to succeed overseas.

Managing director John Robinson said: "During the past two years, we have had many enquiries from overseas, especially the Middle East, and therefore we selected this area as our first target market.

"The passport funding paid half our costs to attend Arab Health, the largest healthcare exhibition in the Middle East, which was held in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year.

"The first company we met sells healthcare and mobility aids in the UAE and has its largest of three retail outlets in Dubai.

"We have just sold and shipped our first order of beds, worth around £18,500, to this distributor.

"The advice and hands-on support from UK Trade & Investment was excellent, giving us direct and immediate access to our target market."

UK Trade & Investment's services in Worcestershire are delivered through Business Link West Mercia.

Senior international trade adviser Linda Smith said: "Nexus has been a text book client, using Passport in all the right ways to research, develop and sell into a new market.

"I anticipate continued success for the company."