A fast-growing Welsh supplier of specialist tools to electrical and cable contractors has plugged in to the lucrative French electrical wholesale market .

Blaenavon-based Super Rod has made major inroads into the French market which it believes could result in its turnover doubling in the next couple of years.

Current turnover is believed to be about £500,000 a year.

Employing 15 people at Gilchrist Thomas Industrial Estate, Super Rod was created only three years ago but is already the UK's leader in the supply of glass fibre rods for the routing of cables.

It has been helped to secure new business contacts and orders for products in France after being given support under WalesTrade Internat-ional's international busin-ess opportunities programme.

WTI, the overseas trade arm of the Welsh Assembly , helped Super Rod with research into the opportunities available in France as well as accompanying the firm to meetings with agents and potential customers.

Tristan Maidment, marketing manager, said: "We have had experience of exporting because we have already made inroads into the Irish, Scandinavian and New Zealand markets. But France was different because we believed it offered an opportunity for a larger volume of business.

"The result has surpassed our expectations while the opportunities that promise to come our way in terms of orders and new markets are extremely exciting."

International programme manger for France Ceri Davies said: "Super Rod is an excellent company that carries out all its design and manufacturing in Blaenavon.

"Its innovative solution to practical problems faced by cable contractors offers opp-ortunities worldwide and WTI is delighted to have been able help them make such excellent progress to date. We are currently working closely with Super Rod on other markets, notably Germany."

* For details of services available from WalesTrade International, call 029 2080 1046, or go to www.walestrade.com and www.masnachcymru.com.

* Super Rod's Tristan Maidment (centre) is pictured with Wales Trade International's Gemma Jones and Ceri Davies