A BUSINESS has proved so adept at beating the credit crunch that millions of people in China are set to learn the secret of its success.

Abby Couriers, based in Luckyn Lane, Basildon, featured in the Echo last December as one of the few Essex firms still recruiting as the recession began to bite. But managing director Mark Giles could never have guessed his parcel firm’s story would be talked about as far away as Beijing.

The company is set to feature in a documentary for Chinese Central Television comparing small businesses from around the world which are performing well during hard economic times, and a TV crew flew over from China to film the interview.

Mark said: “I really thought I was being wound up when I got the call, I couldn’t believe they were interested in us in China.”

Mark said filming the interview was one of the toughest things he has ever done.

He added: “They asked me to speak about the company and the recession for five minutes non-stop. Usually I can talk all day, but I kept thinking there’s going to be millions of people watching this.”

The Chinese TV channel asked the Federation of Small Businesses for suitable candidates for the programme and they put forward Abby.

Times are certainly good for the firm, as it recently became the first UK business to take up the Government’s Enterprise Finance Loan, worth £100,000.

Mark said: “Business is going well and the loan allows us to cover some of our set up costs for a new contract we’ve won in Cambridge.”

Mark hopes the documentary will put Abby in touch with any Chinese firms looking to set up in the UK.

He added: “An increasing number of Chinese companies are exporting to Britain, so you never know. I certainly dropped our name in plenty of times.”

Founded in 1994, Abby Couriers is a family-run firm with a head office in Basildon and offices at Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire.

The firm has more than 175 drivers on the road providing same-day delivery for clients including DHL, Fedex and TNT.