Companies that are taking the opportunity to develop in international markets should be praised

One of Scotland's shining export success stories, Vascutek, is featured in this month's edition.

It is not among the highest-profile players on Scotland's corporate scene, and many people may either not have heard of the company or be familiar with its work. But its tale is an impressive one.

The company employs more than 700 people at its headquarters and manufacturing site at Inchinnan in Renfrewshire. And it is at the cutting edge of healthcare technology, designing and manufacturing products that address the needs of vascular and cardiovascular clinicians around the world. It is a truly international company, owned by Japanese healthcare group Terumo Corporation.

In a totally different sector, Scotch whisky distiller Morrison Bowmore has done well under the ownership of another Japanese company, Suntory.

Both of these stories have involved willingness by the owners to allow the Scottish operations they acquired to retain the degree of autonomy required to thrive, and to provide the necessary investment.

The successes of Vascutek and Morrison Bowmore highlight the importance of the international dimension to Scotland, a relatively small, outward-facing economy.

This international aspect is more crucial than ever to Scotland at a time when the UK economy as a whole continues to struggle and faces further exhausting headwinds in the form of more cuts in public spending by the Westminster Government.

In this regard, the Vascutek story, told in this edition of The Herald Business Magazine is something of an antidote to this broader UK economic misery.

Two recent sets of figures, on foreign direct investment in Scotland and exports by the food sector last year, have also provided a much-needed tonic in these difficult times. Figures published last month by accountancy firm Ernst & Young (EY) showed Scotland attracted a record number of inward investment projects from the US last year, 37 in all. The EY report also revealed that, in terms of the overall number of foreign direct investment projects attracted, Scotland had its third-best year on record in 2014.

The EY annual attractiveness survey showed that Scotland attracted 80 foreign direct investment projects last year, down only slightly from 82 in 2013 - Scotland's best year since 1997.

And the performance last year signals that warnings over the impact of the independence referendum on foreign direct investment in Scotland were well wide of the mark.

Inward investment is hugely important to Scotland. The stories of Vascutek and Morrison Bowmore certainly highlight the degree to which the economy north of the Border could benefit from greater investment from the Far East.

The long-term view taken by these companies' Japanese owners is great to see, and is a welcome change from the obsession with quarterly profits in many US companies. This baffling focus on the short term, often at the expense of greater long-term prosperity, seems also to have become more prevalent in the UK.

On the export side of things, the latest figures on Scotland's overseas sales of food, published last month, also provide encouragement. Rural Affairs, Food and Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead announced that annual Scottish food exports had in 2014 exceeded £1.1 billion for the first time. They were up 3.5 per cent on 2013, driven by a £38 million increase in overseas sales of fish and seafood.

Mr Lochhead cited an increasing international appreciation of the quality and provenance of Scottish food. He unveiled the figures while visiting Scottish producer Mara Seaweed in Edinburgh. During this visit, Mr Lochhead learned about Mara's plans to start exporting to Asia by the end of 2015.

The Scottish drinks sector meanwhile continues to punch above its weight on the international stage.

Scottish craft beer pioneer BrewDog has underlined its international growth ambitions by hiring industry big-hitter Andrew Hatherell to spearhead its global sales drive.

BrewDog has persuaded Hatherell to join its "craft beer revolution" from a senior position at AB-InBev, the international giant behind Beck's, Budweiser and Stella Artois. Hatherell has been tasked by BrewDog with working with global distributors to build sales in its current 55 export markets, and with taking its brands into new territories. So, while things might be grim on the home front in the UK as a whole, it is reassuring to see Scotland attracting so much inward investment and companies based north of the Border doing so well on the export front.

Vascutek, Morrison Bowmore, Mara Seaweed and BrewDog are all fine examples of the huge numbers of Scottish companies to have taken to the international stage.

Hopefully, they will encourage other businesses, old and new and in-between, to follow suit where opportunities present themselves.

And, given success on the export and inward investment fronts is so important to Scotland right now, we must also keep our fingers crossed that we continue to attract companies from all over the world to set up operations here.