SPECIALIST engineering company Sugden is poised to break into new international markets thanks to a revolutionary new website.

The firm can now demonstrate every aspect of its food processing equipment over the internet to potential clients throughout the world without leaving its Barrowford base.

The company specialises in the design and manufacture of the hot plate machines that produce goods such as muffins, pancakes, potato cakes, crumpets and pikelets.

With the equipment capable of producing up to 24,000 items an hour, its client base is restricted to the major bakery chains such as Warburtons and Sunblest.

Director Barry Mullholland explained that the only way for the company to expand was to develop new markets overseas.

The sheer size of the plant ruled out any possibility of transporting it around trade shows. Using scaled-down models was considered ineffective and the cost of attending international exhibitions was prohibitive. The answer to Sugden's problem was found down the road in Nelson at Northern Technologies. Specialist staff worked with the company to produce 3D animations of the machines in action and build an interactive website to display them.

The simulations themselves are unique as they show the mechanical process in action, many of which have been designed by the company.

Potential customers can click on a machine on screen, zoom in on specific areas and then actually view the machines in motion. There are no guards to block the view, which makes it much better than the traditional video presentations.

"It really is a 21st-century approach to marketing the business," said Barry Mullholland. " We believe firmly that this is the route to go down.

"There was a massive exhibition in Las Vegas last month that we considered going to. It would have cost £20,000 to go there with a small stand which is just too expensive for a small company like ours.

"We worked with Northern Technologies before to produce a virtual reality CD and it seemed logical to take it further and create a website. It has probably cost us around £4,000 which has given us a superb website which will attract interest from around the world."

Sugden, which employs 22 people, was established in 1972 and has been concentrating on manufacturing food processing equipment for the past 15 years.

The company's main competitors are located in the United States and, to back up the new website, sales agents are being recruited. Another key target market is Australasia. Our only serious export success was two years ago to Germany," added Barry. "Thanks to the new website, we can take on our competitors in their own back yard."