Eastfield-based engineering firm Unison was one of 18 companies from across the region at the UK Trade and Investment International Business Network event held in Prague last week.

Unison manufactures steel pipe bending machines for use in the automotive, aerospace and ship building industries.

The firm's technical sales manager, Jim Saynor said: "For us the Prague event was a fact-finding exercise. It allowed us to find out more about the Czech market and explore our prospects there while taking advantage of the support and expertise that was offered by the UK trade and investment teams based locally and in the Czech Republic.

"My meetings were very productive. I met senior technicians and purchasing managers as well as agents and there is a very good chance the contacts will translate into real business.

"I was impressed with the team in Prague who seemed very tuned in to the individual needs of each company and highly knowledgeable about the sector.

"It's good to know this kind of support is available for business overseas and it makes a big difference to what can be achieved in a short time."

This is the second overseas networking event for Unison after it took part in a similar event in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2008.

Mr Saynor added: "This two-day format is very effective from the point of view of cost and convenience, and causes minimal upheaval in the working week, an important factor for smaller companies."

Mark Robson, regional director for UK Trade and Investment in the region said: "Finding Czech partner firms for the 18 Yorkshire companies who represented everything from food services to engineering, and getting them together in the space of one day has been something of a military operation.

"It is a testament to the collaboration of our staff based in Prague and Yorkshire and their hard work and skills. All the companies have come back to Yorkshire with some good prospects for future business."

A delegation from Scarborough will travel to Prague next week to hear if the town wins the Enterprising Europe Award after being named the most enterprising place in Britain last year.

Scarborough was automatically entered for the European awards – organised by the European Commission – and is in the final of the Entrepreneurship Promotion category.

The European Enterprise Awards ceremony will take place in Prague next Wednesday.

The other two shortlisted entrants in the Entrepreneurship Promotion category are a project to raise awareness of entrepreneurship among young people in Belgium and a project to support innovative ideas through co-operation in Spain.