AN electrical goods manufacturer says it has benefited from Brexit after sales of its core product doubled in the last year.

Ebac sold “tens of thousands” of its dehumidifiers in 2016.

Bosses at the firm, based in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, said the increase was down to Ebac taking advantage of the Brexit climate, including promoting the fact its products were made in the UK.

Enhanced distribution with retailers including Amazon, B&Q, Currys, Tesco and Buy it Direct has been a major factor in the significant increase in sales, they added.

Speaking to The Northern Echo, Tony Hird, business development manager at Ebac, said: “We took the side of the fence that Britain is better and our products are made in Britain – we are the only dehumidifier manufacturer in the UK.

“Some of our competitors experienced price increases when exporting because of the exchange rate,”

Mr Hird said the company was also looking to expand its European presence, and was hoping to sell between five and ten thousand dehumidifiers on the continent.

“Last year, we had success with a fairly small number of sales in Belgium, Holland, Greece and Portugal.

“We are now working with dealerships in France, Germany, Spain and Italy.”

Earlier this year, Ebac became the only UK-based manufacturer of washing machines when it began producing the white good at its Newton Aycliffe plant.

Mr Hird said Ebac was committed to meet its pledge it made last year of creating 100 jobs over an 18 month period.

“We have seen a 20 per cent increase in our water coolers, our washing machines were launched three months ago, so if we continue to grow as we have been, there will be a need for additional manufacturing capacity.”

Ebac previously revealed their latest washing machine venture could be followed by an expansion into tumble-dryers and dishwashers.

Mr Hird added: “When John Elliott first introduced dehumidifiers to British homes I don’t think he ever envisaged that the company would sell millions of machines to UK consumers.”