The firm makes clever stuff - carbon fibre composite tanks for the transport of corrosive chemicals - and wants to double its workforce to meet export demand.

‘‘Selling advanced manufactured products to Germany - that has got to be the best,’’ Mr Turnbull observed as he toured the Omni Tanker factory at Smeaton Grange, an industrial area in Sydney’s west.

Mr Turnbull said there were no fussier buyers than the Germans and congratulated Omni for cracking the market.

‘‘If you can export advanced patented Australian material science to Germany, you can export it everywhere in the world,’’ he said.

Mr Turnbull was interrupted by a pair of unionists waving a sign saying ‘‘Port Kembla steel works 66 km’’.

They want the prime minister to visit the Illawarra where thousands of steel worker jobs are at risk.

Omni, a family business, employs 28 people and plans to double that number as its export business rises.

Chief executive Daniel Rodgers said its first deal was into a market worth around $15 million to $30 million.

‘‘We are a small company with a high technology niche,’’ he said.

AAP