UK Sustainable Paint Maker Shortlisted for Transatlantic Export Award

Brouns & Co, the Yorkshire-based maker of sustainable linseed paint, has been shortlisted for a prestigious award given annually by BritishAmerican Business (BAB) to recognize success in transatlantic trade and investment.

The business, set up by Michiel Brouns in 2012, has been working to grow its sales in the U.S. since 2015, and now sees as many U.S. orders each month as it does from UK customers. The business was one of more than 400 firms identified by independent research on both sides of the Atlantic and is one of just five UK nominees for the UK SME Investment in the U.S. award.

Brouns, who is a published expert on the application of linseed paint, and a global authority on its history and production techniques, is already working with U.S. architects and preservation bodies on numerous projects in the United States, including the painstaking restoration of President Washington’s Mount Vernon summer home in Virgina.

He will attend the awards ceremony in London in June with the hope of scooping the title after opening the doors of Brouns & Co’s first U.S. warehouse in 2024, and launching a domestic US delivery service to allow more American customers to buy the high performance paint direct from a U.S.-based business and website for the first time.

“It’s a great honor to be shortlisted from all the businesses across the whole UK, so we already feel like this is a win and our hard work and progress have been recognized. But we’re really hoping that we can pick up the award in June,” said Michiel Brouns.

Brouns & Co has seen a tenfold increase in demand from the U.S. since it began shipping initial orders to North America. The company views the market as a key area for growth, driven by a combination of the huge volume of wooden buildings that are built and maintained in the U.S.

“The U.S. is a high growth market for us with so much historic and new build wooden construction, and our opportunity to grow fast and create jobs both here in the UK and in the US. .is huge. Regardless of trade tariffs, the launch of our dedicated U.S. website and warehouse opens up a large market who are not able to make purchases from overseas entities, and we’re already seeing sales climb again in 2025 as a direct result of this investment,” he added.

BAB is the leading transatlantic trade association, incorporating the British-American Chamber of Commerce in the US and the American Chamber of Commerce in the UK. Sponsored by Virgin Atlantic, HSBC UK and Delta Airlines, the awards will take place at the Institute of Directors HQ in London on June 19.