A leading information technology firm is widening its sales net as it carries out more business abroad.

Brighouse company Concorde Informatics, is expanding its operation, which also has a southern base in Ledbury, Hertfordshire, into North America, Canada and across the Far East.

Concorde Informatics was set up in 1985 by a team of six IT specialists. Since then the company has grown substantially and currently has a turnover of more than £10 million.

The firm has already grown through a number of strategic partnerships with Compaq, Bull, Microsoft and Novell.

The company prides itself on being able to offer customers tailor-made solutions for a wide range of information technology needs.

Concorde, which employs more than 85 staff, is already the UK's leading supplier of IT solutions to the body repair industry, and has just announced a new strategic alliance with Leicestershire-based Trade Group.

The Trade Group is part of a European network of independent distributors focused on the body repair industry.

Under the new agreement both companies will be jointly developing Concorde's leading range of bodyshop management and estimating packages.

Trade Group will make sure that products remain up-to-date and relevant to the needs of the modern bodyshop.

Trade Group will also be promoting Concorde's full range of Automotive software products including the new Windows-based AutoManagement, bodyshop management system, together with supporting software products including AutoClaims, AutoImage, AutoWord and AutoCourtesy.

Nigel Hecks, Trade Group chairman, said: "We deal with a tremendous cross section of bodyshops, but it will be those who invest in new technology that will become the market leaders."

Terry Locker, a director of Concorde Informatics, added: "Trade Group have an excellent reputation for establishing close working relationships with leading bodyshops."

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