Made in the Midlands exhibition 2013 handbook

2 Made in the Midlands May 2013 www.madeinthemidlands.com

MADE IN THE MIDLANDS

Meet the Made in the Midlands team

Sharon MasonSharon’s extensive background in both the manufacturing sector and in media sales well equips her in her role as Membership Liaison Manager. She primarily focusses her atten-tion on member retention and the recruit-

ment of new members whilst also acting as a team leader for the Made in the Midlands team.

With hands on experience in the manufacturing sector from con-ducting factory tours at Stewart Crystal and acting as a marker on the shop floor, to producing plastic components for LDV Sharon has a strong allegiance to the Midland’s manufacturing and engineering sector. Furthermore, she has acquired considerable expertise in me-dia sales at the Express and Star. Sharon is a dedicated team player both in her role at Made in the Midlands and for her hockey team. Her talents also extend to being an accomplished guitar and bass player.

Chris AspinwallChris’ interest in engineering and manufactur-ing started with studying Aerospace Engineer-ing at Bath University. To gain a commercial awareness Chris also studied Business Enter-

prise at UCB, where he successfully graduated with First Class honours. After university, he

acquired management experience in the catering sector before gaining industrial experience in the resourcing of high profile candidates and managing of accounts for the manufacturing and engineering industry. Chris has a clear passion for marketing and business which is underpinned with engineering knowledge. In his role as Graduate Business Development Executive, Chris is responsi-ble for new members joining Made in the Midlands, the retention of existing members and account management.Outside of Made in the Midlands Chris is an avid reader and music fan.

Sophie WhittinghamAs Graduate Business Development Exec-utive Sophie has a strong commitment to re-igniting the passion for the excellence of Midland’s manufacturing and engineering and to bestowing this enthusiasm onto the

next generation of manufacturers. Her aca-demic background encompasses a Sports Business

Management degree at Leeds Metropolitan University. Sophie has gained considerable experience as a sales manager and supervisor in the retail sector and also as a gym membership advisor. In her spare time, Sophie continues to pursue her sporting interests through pilates, a number of aerobics classes and through the play-ing of netball.

Charlotte CrowshawCharlotte is Relationship Manager and Web Ed-itor for Made in the Midlands. She graduated from Aberystwyth University with an English BA (Hons) and Literary Studies MA. Her back-

ground encompasses the teaching of English and Maths to a range of ages and abilities up to ‘A’

Level before completing an editorial internship with Business Report, an online business newspaper and sister company to Made in the Midlands. In her spare time Charlotte has attended dance classes for a number of years.

Jason PittAs a director of Made in the Midlands and a few other media related businesses I am especially proud of the way Made in the Midlands has evolved. This is a credit to the people that believed it could be done and

the team who believe in the cause and the aspirations of the business.

My work background is predominately in publish-ing so the transition from editorial campaign to stand alone business could not have been done without the essential advice and input from members and people in the Made in the Midlands team.Outside of work I enjoy playing football, watching Walsall FC lose on the weekend and spending time with my 10 month old son.

Charles AddisonCharles is a Director of Made in the Midlands and has been working to support manufac-turing and engineering companies in the Midlands for the last 4 years, helping to set up

Made in the Midlands in 2009 and now lead-ing its growth into this, our 5th year. A chartered

mar- keter and graduate, born in Wolverhampton, Charles has a track record of championing manufacturing in the region and has bought the most number of companies into Made in the Midlands to work with one another, working previously as an entrepreneur in the wine trade after graduating from Lancaster University in 2006.Outside of Made in the Midlands, Charles is a season ticket holder at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, an Alfa Romeo enthusiast and guitar-ist for rock band Dead Contenders.

www.madeinthemidlands.com Made in the Midlands May 2013 3


Editors comment

This digital edition is packed full of inspiring stories and interviews to get you in the mood for what will

be a great day to celebrate Midlands manufacturing.The 2013 Made in the Midlands show has moved to a larger venue and has more ex-hibitors and registered guests than ever be-fore.In addition to the show there are also several walk in seminars where you can learn from experts on a range of manufacturing related topics.We really want you to take something of value away with you from this event, during your visit you will form new relationships, gain ideas for growth and some inspiration from a few of the great success stories in this digital book, such as our exclusive interview with Richard Noble OBE on page 6.After ten years in publishing a print version of Business Report the time was right last year for us to adapt and harness the new technologies to reach more people. I also en-courage our readers to do the same. As in any industry, businesses need to adapt to their environment. For us our print her-itage going back more than 30 years has helped create large awareness of the impor-tance of the manufacturing community and

we have reached many people this way. We now want to take what we have learned and create a powerful presence online that promotes Midlands manufacturing not just locally but globally. In the last five years we have taken Made in the Midlands from an editorial campaign to a stand alone business, none of this would have been possible without those manu-facturing and engineering owners that have supported us.I really believe through member support we have made a difference to how manufactur-ing is perceived. From our trips to Westmin-ster to key messages that have been seen by hundreds of thousands of people. While our print days may be behind us, I am proud to say that this digital edition will reach more than 11,000 subscribers’, just days before the exhibition, helping you plan your day more effectively. I look forward to welcoming you on the day and have a great exhibition.

Jason Pitt

Contents

FEATURES

6 Interview with Richard Noble

12 MIM welcomes new President

14 New patrons join MIM

17 Welcome to MIM 2013

18 How to use the portal

20 Exhibition floor plan

22 A.E Oscroft on the move

24 Berck celebrate £1m contracts

28 CAEM Bring production to UK

30 Brown & Holmes record growth

32 Kepston £1.5m investment

12

18 32



The industrial spark Born in Edinburgh, Richard was a holder of the Land Speed Record between 1983 and 1997, and was the project director of ThrustSCC the vehicle which currently holds the Land Speed Record. Richard is passionate about British engineering and wants young people to share his enthusiasm and existing businesses to take a few more risks...

www.madeinthemidlands.com Business Report May 2013 7




If Britain’s manufacturing sector is the envy of the world, isn’t it about time we started shouting about its

successes. Richard Noble is one of those shouting the loudest and really believes that if we are to transform Britain’s fortunes, then we need business owners to start taking a few more risks and young people to get more inspired about manufacturing and engineering.Richard Noble is no stranger to taking risks and in 1963, a car he was driving gave him the landspeed record clocking up a rather impressive 663 mph. In the next 2 years he aims to break the landspeed record again with the Bloodhound, which will reach a staggering 1,000 mph.Richard now spends much of his time en-gaging with young people through his Blood-hound education programme and public speaking events where he travels the circuit as an inspirational speaker sharing his pas-sion and beliefs.Made in the Midlands spoke with Richard to try and sprinkle some of that entrepreneurial stardust for our members and fellow manu-facturing firms in the Midlands.Britain was the leader in innovation and in-dustry, so where did it go wrong?Richard said, “The Country has the balance of the economy terribly wrong, with reliance on services. There is no way a service-based economy could ever support an expensive country like Britain. We now have to get back

to exporting in a big way and to export we need manufacturing, and we need engineers. “Engineering has been in decline in the past because of the media. There are few science programmes on television and when they are put on they are dumbed down.”Richard firmly believes that the media played a big role in the decline in people seeking careers in engineering. Richard said, “When we first told the media that we were build-ing supersonic car initially we were met with disinterest, so we started moving to the In-ternet for promotion.“Everyone in the team starting writing on the website and this gave us an amazing in-sight. Not only did we know how many peo-ple were reading our articles we knew what articles they were reading, The website gen-erated 59 million hits in a year and to many peoples surprise people were not just read-ing the simple stuff, but most people were reading the technical pages. ““The media were at the time concentrating on the arts, but what we discovered is the man on the street loves technology.”The UK pipeline for engineers has been in rapid decline, but people like Richard and government are starting to wake up to the need to increase this supply as the country looks towards a solvent and sustainable fu-ture.Of the things Richard is keen to support is getting more women into engineering. Rich-ard said, “We have the worst record in Eu-rope at getting women into engineering, a trend which needs to reverse.”





Risk adverseUnderstandably Richard is someone who likes a challenge and believes in taking risks but while to some driving a vehicle at such speeds is crazy Richard believes the contra-ry to be true.Richard says, “We have become very com-fortable in Britain and a culture has devel-oped of risk adversity. This mirrors growth in insurance, legal, finance and health and safety. We have gone too far and people are afraid to take risks.“In many ways we have become a risk ad-verse nation, it’s kind of the price of civili-sation and people just don’t take risks, but to innovate you must take risks.Lack of innovation or risk taking means we eventually over time become less competi-tive and in the long term become incapable of innovation. Britain became wealthy and

owes much of its past success because we were not afraid to takes risks.Innovation allows us to deliver real value and gives us a market advantage.Richard also believes that innovation needs to be driven from the top all the way down to the shop floor. Businesses tend to be very hierarchical, but to be good at innova-tion you need to have a flat company struc-ture, where everyone is empowered. Unu-sual solutions to unusual problems initially seems terrifying but after a while people start to get good at it.There are plenty of examples out there of what Britain can do but what the country needs more than anything else is great pro-motion. The world is changing very fast and we need to create a culture of innovation in our companies.”

http://www.rdtaxclaims.co.uk

www.businessreport.co.uk Business Report November 2012 11


Mark EvansFounder of R&D Tax Claims,is expert in successfullysecuring tax refunds for companies in the Midlands and beyond.

01902 783 172 | [email protected] | www.rdtaxclaims.co.uk

THE PROVEN ROUTE TO YOUR MAXIMUM REFUND

Could you be one of thousands of Midlands based manufacturersoverpaying corporation tax?As the R&D tax experts, based in Wolverhampton,our team members have secured corporation taxrefunds of £10 million for companies in the UK.

If you spend on R&D, even if it’s not successful, there’s a goodchance you are entitled to claim a significant tax refund under the Government’s R&D Tax Relief Scheme.

3 Reasons to chooseR&D Tax Claims:

1. 100% success track record2. £82,500 average tax refund3. No need to change your accountant4. £10 million in total claimed to date5. We secure, speed and maximise your refund

No win, no fee, call us now!

Recent refunds we’vesecured include:

£95,016 for a precisionEDM machining company in Smethwick£96,400 for a precision gearsmanufacturer in Stockport£125,000 for a technologycompany in Wolverhampton

NOT JUST FOR

HI-TECCOMPANIES

100%RISK-FREE

NOUP FRONT

FEE

FIND OUT NOW IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE

FOR A REFUND

http://www.rdtaxclaims.co.uk



John Faulkner, managing director of Cab Au-tomotive Limited has been elected as pres-ident of the Midlands based manufacturing network Made in the Midlands.As managing director of Smethwick based vehicle interiors specialist Cab Automotive, a Tier 1 supplier to most of the UK automotive OEM’s, Mr Faulkner has seen the company grow to a current turnover of circa £20m, having created 204 midland manufacturing jobs since 2009. The company continues to

invest and develop new processes at a rapid rate, with plans to recruit for a further 100 positions within the next 12 months, with a keen focus on apprentices.In his presidential role at Made in the Mid-lands, John will be spearheading a council of 30 industrial decision makers, with the remit of steering the strategic direction of the private membership network, a platform through which over 250 manufacturing and engineering firms currently collaborate.

Industry leader elected as Made in the Midlands President

www.madeinthemidlands.com Made in the Midlands April 2013 13


Moreover, Mr Faulkner’s pride in promoting manufacturing in the Midlands and com-mitment to working together to develop and promote the region’s capability, will ensure that the council provides a united platform for members to contribute ideas and sug-gestions on areas where the ever expanding group of manufacturing and engineering companies can work together.The newly formed council will also function to enable members to reach a consensus on issues important to industry. With a politi-cally neutral focus, the council will reinforce a grass-roots relationship within the SME manufacturing and engineering sector in the region.Made in the Midlands is set to benefit greatly from John Faulkner’s extensive ex-perience of manufacturing in the region. As managing director of Cab Automotive, Mr Faulkner has utilised his knowledge and ex-

pertise to lead his skilled workforce through the difficulty of the economic climate to the successful position it is in today. He has fur-ther provided his staff base with a sense of empowerment and increased levels of moti-vation through the implementation of a ma-jor lean programme.The Made in the Midlands network currently comprises of approximately 250 local man-ufacturing firms who have endeavoured to play their part in transforming the econom-ic fortunes of Midland manufacturing. The firms join forces to work together, network and expand the Midlands’ manufacturing base. The network provides the ideal op-portunities for inter-trading, sharing of best practice and sales leads through networking. Furthermore, the group is continuing to pro-vide a powerful voice for lobbying key public and private sector organisations.

14 Made in the Midlands April 2013 www.madeinthemidlands.com


Services Offered• Three Plate Saws• Eleven Automa�c Bar Saws• Three Ver�cal Band Saws for Profiling toShape

• Water Jet and Laser Cu�ng Service• Machining, Milling, Turning, Deep Hole BoringService

• Fabrica�on, Mitring, Bending, Forming• Bespoke Dies and Extrusions• Alloy Design and Specialist MaterialProcurement

• Stockholding service and contract orderservice

• JIT / CANBAN requirements met

Stock rangeAluminium In all formsBronze In all formsAluminium Bronze In all formsCast-Iron Round and Flat BarBrass and Copper In all formsStainless Steel In all formsPlascs In all formsEngineering Steels In all forms

ALL ENQUIRIES - T: 0121 555 6662 • F: 0121 565 4800E: [email protected]

Steelbright Road, Rabone Lane, Smethwick, England B66 2NW

Suppliers of materialsto industry

In addition to the fantastic support Made in the Midlands has received from it’s long term patrons, Delcam,

R&D Tax Claims and UKTI we are de-lighted to welcome new patrons Lloyds TSB and patent experts Swindell &

Pearson.In the past few years the patron scheme has offered significant value, one patron, R&D Claims has helped members reclaim more than £2m in R&D claims. With innovation

a prominent feature in the message Rich-ard Noble OBE delivered on page 6, we are especially delighted to introduce our latest patent partner who we hope will help mem-bers in the coming months.We are also delighted to welcome Lloyds TSB for the first time who replace Barclays as the principal banking partner. Lloyds TSB were chosen because of their unique approach and commitment to the manufacturing sector, whilst most bank lending to SME’s is still contracting Lloyds

Made in the Midlands welcomes new Patrons

http://www.ravenacemetals.co.uk



actually increased lending to small businesses to 4%.Lloyds TSB has launched a dedicated West Midlands manufacturing team.Headed by senior manager Brian Cartwright, the Lloyds TSB Commercial team includes five relationship managers accredited by the Warwick Manufacturing Group following training with the University of Warwick.The course was developed with Lloyds, the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF) and the Manufacturing Technologies Associa-tion (MTA), to ensure the team has practical knowledge to lend to manufacturers.

The team will help their manufacturing busi-ness portfolio to identify traditional and al-ternative funding solutions and hold local forums to identify common issues and op-portunities for the sector.David Atkinson, area director for Lloyds TSB Commercial Banking in the West Midlands, Staffordshire and Shropshire, said: “The man-ufacturing sector is a key area of growth for the UK economy. We want manufacturing companies in the area to know we are com-mitted to supporting them as they look to expand and we are proud to have a specialist team of relationship managers with an in-depth knowledge of the sector to work with them.”

http://www.rical.co.uk/

http://www.initiative-qss.co.uk

http://www.pressvinepro.com

www.madeinthemidlands.com Made in the Midlands April 2013 17


This year we have aimed to put on our biggest event to date to champion Midlands industry,

welcoming hundreds of companies from across the UK to meet our mem-

bers and exhibitors. Made in the Midlands continues to be a hive of positive businesses, all uniting with the common goal of growing the sector in the Midlands. This year we have launched a Manufacturing Council to provide our members with a platform to voice their ide-as and suggestions, including the voting of a President and Vice President. I’d like to thank John Faulkner, MD of Cab Automotive for accepting the role of President after be-ing voted in by the members and to Graham Yeomans, MD of Yeoman Pressings for ac-cepting the role of Vice President.The first council meeting was held in April and the feedback has been fascinating with members proposing new features and im-provements to our online platform which we have already actioned. The council also for-mulated interesting ideas on our long term agendas of improving perceptions of manu-facturing and engineering at school and col-lege level - the minutes of our first meeting are available in the inbox of all members online.

With continued pessimism on the state of our national economy, at least here in the Midlands, we are finding our members still have the appetite to invest and grow and we will continue to support them. The exhi-bition today represents an excellent oppor-tunity to meet companies across the sec-tor, to get a feel for what else is happening throughout the supply chain and of course to network with a view to doing more busi-ness locally. We have introduced a seminar schedule that will run throughout the day, I’d encourage all visitors to plan their visit around the seminars, particularly the one with Jaguar Land Rover buyers on the way their supply chain works.Our team will be on site to help you so look out for us in our red Made in the Midlands shirts!Finally, thank you for your ongoing support of our cause, we couldn’t make this noise for Midlands industry without you. Keep on making it happen!

Charles AddisonDirector, and the Made in the Midlands Team.

A warm welcome to Made in the Midlands

CHARLES ADDISON



Everything you need to know about the Made in the Midlands social network

Step by step | Logon and watch our new video tutorials from the help menu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mez1PnRTB3g



2 Publishing news content

By clicking on the news articles button you can view previous articles submitted or create new articles. Your article is immediately published live to Ma-deinthemidlands.com, also all articles submitted are aggregated and distributed by email each Wednesday at 10am to 2,000 subscribers.

4 Social logins

You can connect your twitter page and facebook pages so that has your articles are published live to madeinthemidlands.com it also automatically tweets a shorted url from your social media saving you time and driving more traffic to your page.

3 Mailbox

You can mail multiple members using your own madeinthemidlands mailbox. Recipients receive your mail in both their madeinthemidlabnds inbox and as plain text to their personal email address

1 Microsite

This is your unique place on madeinthemidlands. It will begin http://yourcompany.madeinthemid-lands.comThe content you put in ‘Company profile’ tab helps populate the majority of the content for this page.Your microsite also contains all of your news articles with unique RSS feed to your company news

5 My Organogram

This is a list of the senior people in your business. People added to the list are only viewable by members, by adding people to your organogram they are automatically added to the weekly email digest.

20 Made in the Midlands May 2013 www.businessreport.co.uk


Explore this year’s Made in the Midlands show...



Explore this year’s Made in the Midlands show...



A.E. Oscroft have over 60 years ex-perience in the supply of quality metal pressings, assemblies and

prototype projects in a wide range of materials and volumes across a num-

ber of industries. They offer a full service from initial concept prototypes, tool design and manufacture, and ultimately, to finished component production in line with ISO9001/2000, TS 16949 and ISO 14001 accreditations.Following consistent growth over the last 5 years, AEO have recently announced the pur-

chase of their new 53,000 sq ft production facility. The Brownfield site based less than ½ mile away from their previous 18,000 sq ft premises in Redditch, is now fully operational.The new premises have provided a significant increase in capacity, and the management team have taken the opportunity to improve the plant layout and by using techniques such as Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Im-provement throughout the business process, both current and new customers can be easily catered for.Prior to the strategic purchase of the new premises; the Directors attracted additional senior managers to complement the existing

New site and additional staff marks a promising future for A.E.Oscroft



New site and additional staff marks a promising future for A.E.Oscroftstructure in order to ensure correct imple-mentation of the plan.AEO have already implemented a state of the art measurement facility and internal tool room/ repairs shop, increased lifting capacity and improved loading / unloading facilities at the new site. Furthermore, to reflect the firm’s dedication to remaining cost competitive in the long term and reducing their carbon foot-print, the new premises are equipped with a solar panel electricity generation system and low energy lighting.The Directors have also installed a Duel Bio-mas Heating System to provide heating and hot water across the entire plant fuelled by wood pellets from a sustainable source en-abling the business to combat the effects of the ever increasing cost of fossil fuels.Chris Oscroft, Managing Director, explained: “The systems have involved a significant out-lay, however, our long term commitment to control all aspects of costs within the business will be a major attraction to our customers. We are very much committed to environmen-tally friendly practice in the workplace. We have partially filled the roof with solar panels and will assess their performance over time. If it works as successfully as we hope it will, we have space to add three times the amount of panels to the roof space.” Commenting on the many benefits of the new site, Chris Oscroft, said, “The new facili-

ties have allowed us to consult with our exist-ing customers on the best ways to meet their future requirements, in order that we can align our strategies and our plant and facility to continue meeting their demands. “We have already experienced a large surge in the number of enquiries from new custom-ers in new market sectors looking for locally sourced products and as a result we are in-creasing our capacity for tooling within the UK”.

Pemberton Engineering limited are designers and manufacturers of Press

tools, Jigs and Fixtures. The company has traded successfully for 30 years, serving first tier suppliers to the automotive and

other various industries.

Congratulations to A.E Oscroft

on their move to new premises

Unit 7 Strawberry Lane Ind Est, Willenhall. WV13 3RS.

(01902) 603887

24 Made in the Midlands May 2013 2013 www.businessreport.


A West Bromwich based leading manufacturer of quality met-al pressings and metal/plastic

sub-assemblies has won an impressive

£1M contract with Jaguar Land Rover. Berck Limited are a second tier supplier to JLR and will be continuing to produce com-

ponents for their new line of vehicles. To ensure that their expertise in supplying the automotive, as well as electronic and medi-cal industries, is maintained, Berck Limited have looked to the next generation and re-cruited two new members of staff. A dedication to the highest quality stand-ards and an expertise in the most innovative

£1M JLR contract secured by forward looking metal pressings company

Andy Jackson, Brian Yates and Darren Yates



£1M JLR contract secured by forward looking metal pressings company

RMK Tooling| Skilled Craftsmen| Right Equipment| Strong Appreciation

Unit 3 Tudor Industrial EstateWharfdale Road, Tyseley

Birmingham B11 2DGe: [email protected]

t: 0121 707 7715f: 0121 707 7811

www.rmktooling.com

design have already ensured that Berck’s precision components are used widely in car manufacturing plants worldwide and that JLR are their biggest customer. The win-ning of the new contracts has also reflected their exceptional customer service. Darren Yates, Managing Director of Berck Limited explained: “We have gained a reputation for really looking after our customers. We real-ise that they are busy people and we have always endeavoured to make it as easy for them as we can.” The new contract will see Berck Ltd making cable harness assemblies, battery terminal contacts and cable management solutions to eliminate the over-heating of wires in the engine. The extra work has enabled the firm to expand their 63 strong workforce with another two members of staff. Darren Yates commented: “We are really pleased to have taken on an apprentice, who is being trained in quality control and in our tool room, and a post-graduate in the product design de-partment. We are looking to the next gen-eration and are incredibly pleased with our two new recruits.” Apprentice, Rikki Power, has been with the firm since September and

has already gained a B-Tec level qualification. It is hoped that he will eventually join the company in the commercial department.Meanwhile the firm has also recruited 24 year Pradeep Kumar into the product design department. Darren Yates explained: “We

http://www.rmktooling.com



had lost our product design capability when a member of our staff retired. Recruiting someone like Pradeep has breathed new life into this area of our business. Furthermore, Pradeep’s interest in CAD has further ena-bled him to be able to converse well with the engineers. This was exactly what we wanted. In recent years, the image crisis suffered by manufacturing and engineering has meant it has not always been that easy to recruit. The situation is improving as the next generation are becoming more aware of the importance and value of gaining a skill. This is an impor-tant shift in perceptions as manufacturing and engineering is currently consisting of an aging workforce. Given another 10 years, many of the existing manufacturing work-force will be at retirement age. It is impor-tant to preserve the skills and expertise of our highly experienced existing workforce by bestowing them on the next generation.”This is a practice which Berck Limited has already proven is very successful. They al-ready employee a member of staff in their tool room who began an apprenticeship with

them ten years ago and has remained in their employment. The firm also has another two apprentices in their press shop, who are undergoing training to qualify as press set-ters. Darren added: “We have seen how well they can work and, as the company contin-ues growing, we very much intend to contin-ue rolling out apprenticeships in the future.” It is such dedication to meeting the tech-nical demand of their customers and deliv-ering the very best in customer service that has justifiably earnt Berck Limited such a substantial new contract from Jaguar Land Rover. Furthermore, Berck’s enthusiasm for investing in the future generation is not only set to enable them to continue meeting the high expectations of the diverse industries that they serve, but will also aid the safe-guarding of the future of manufacturing. In the difficulties of the current economic cli-mate, it is companies like Berck Ltd that are proving their worth and are a true testament to the manufacturing excellence of the Mid-lands.

Pradeep Kumar - Design & Projects Engineer

Dave Perry & Ricki Power - old and new apprentices

• Deburring• De-Greasing• De-Scaling• De-Rusting

• Polishing• BallBurnishing• VibratoryFinishing• BarrelFinishing

We wish Berck Ltd every success for the futureM e t a L F i n i s h i n g

Unit 4-5, Tame Road Industrial Estate, Witton, Birmingham B6 7HSTel: +44 (0)121 3270027 Fax: +44 (0)121 3273744

Email: [email protected]: www.supersheen.co.uk

Supersheenmetalfinishinghasestablishedreputationforqualityandserviceunsurpassedinthefinishingindustry.Ourcomprehensiverangeofequipmentandprocessesarecapableofhandlingtonnageorsmallbatchquantities.Largecomponentsorminiatures.

Wearemajorsupplierstothemotorindustryandalliedtrades.ThequalityofthefinishessuppliedarebackedupbyISO9001-2008Accreditation,ensuring“ABetterFinishFaster”everytimeonmillionsofcomponents.Supersheenthecomplete“MetalFinishers”offerBarrel,Vibratory,HighEnergyfinishingandEcofriendlydegreasing.

Heat Treatment Specialist for the Spring and Presswork Trades

Unit 15 Barnfield RoadTipton, West Midlands DY4 9DFTel: 0121 557 6175Fax: 0121 557 0961www.alpharowen.co.uk

Alpha-Rowen Ltd

OCM House, St Peter’s Road, Droitwich WR9 7BJTel: 01905 770177 Fax: 01905 796440

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

www.mwdesignsltd.co.uk

The company has been built on the principles of providing our customers with a professional service for

all their design requirements

MW Designs Ltd was established in 2001 by Mark Whitehead and Mathew Williams


http://www.supersheen.co.uk

http://www.alpharowen.co.uk

http://www.mwdesignsltd.co.uk



Global shopfitting supplier CAEM Shelving Engineering has just experienced record

growth, announcing a turnover of nearly £14m for the last year, more than doubling its numbers from 2007 which saw them turn over £6.6m. The rise followed increases in revenue of 20% in 2011 and 22% in 2012.

The company which manufactures shelves and drawers and provides general shopfit-ting solutions is in the process of relocat-ing the production of its modular shelving units back to the UK after moving it to It-aly six years ago. The decision has followed changes in the Eurozone economy and the advantages connected with complement-ing CAEM’s Italian manufacturing division. Currently employing over 40 people at its site at Jamage Industrial Estate in Talke, North Staffordshire, the business is hop-ing to increase its workforce by creating at least 18 new jobs following a surge in trade.Being forced to downsize its production prior to the recession a few years ago

Global shopfitting supplier hits record growth after relocating production to the UK

straight talkingtechnologywww.ebstar.co.uk01782 [email protected]

IT support servicesSecurity specialistsHardware supply & installationSoftware licensingProject managementInternet & leased lineTelephony integrationSystem audits

a fresh approach to

design &marketingwww.juice-creative.com01782 [email protected]

Website designEcommerceEmail marketingCorporate designBrochuresLeafletsPhotographyIllustrationVideo production

Proud suppliers of

http://www.juice-creative.com



Global shopfitting supplier hits record growth after relocating production to the UK

CAEM has since focused on streamlining its resources in order to be able to target individual businesses in the best possible way by offering case-specific solutions. This personal approach has resulted in major contract wins such as internation-al health, beauty and lifestyle retailer AS Watson, owner of Superdrug and Savers. Besides supplying major retailers in the UK which also count convenience store chain SPAR among them, CAEM is cur-rently exporting its products to countries including Turkey, Russia, the UAE, Neth-erlands and the Balkans, further adding to its recent growth.CAEM’s Sales Manager Nimbus Cottrell sees the prime reasons for the company’s success in its customer service, saying, “the year on year growth has been mainly down to adapting to both our custom-ers’ needs as well as the research of new potential clients prior to formulating a strategy to make their move to CAEM as smooth and hassle free as possible. Our customer service division fully interacts with clients and our in-house powder coating capabilities allow us a cost effec-tive resource that can adapt to whatever our clients require. CAEM has transformed from being one of the industry’s best kept secrets into a main player within the

shopfitting sector who is now being ap-proached by major retailers.”Another pillar of success has been the company’s push into the pharmaceutical market, helping to fit an increasing num-ber of pharmacies with shelving systems, drawers and accessories specifically devel-oped for them. Other industries served by CAEM include consumer electronics, DIY stores, bookshops and food and fashion retailers.

SPECIALIST LOGISTICS COMPANY01782 813325www.mftylertransport.co.uk

M.F. Tyler Transport is an established road haulage and transport business which has been running for over 30 years. Working in and around Staffordshire and throughout the UK.

> 0.5t to 3.5t vans and flatbeds for same day service

> 60 ft extendable flatbed trombone trailer

> Tractor units - 38 ton, 44 ton

> 7.5 ton rigid curtainsiders

> 12 ton rigid curtainsiders



> 26 ton flat bed with moffet

> 45ft flat bed trailers

> 45ft curtain sides and moffet trailers

> 45ft flat trailers with moffet

> Low loaders and extendible low loaders

We can transport any goods from a small box to 28 tonnes on dedicated transport. We accommodate oversized loads and all goods are fully insured.

Central location ideal for Nationwide transportation.

Contact us 24/7 - When others go home, we don’t.

Accurate ETA’s thanks to satelite tracking equipment.

All goods fully insured.

Members of the Road Haulage Association.

Visit our websitewww.mftylertransport.co.uk

Call us for a quote on 01782 813 325

Email: [email protected]: www.mftylertransport.co.uk MF. Tyler Transport Limited, Nevada Lane Burslem, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire ST6 2BY All services are carried out under

RHA conditions of carriage.

DeliveringSolutions

24/7 Fullyinsured

CentrallocationSatellite tracking

http://www.mftylertransport.co.uk/

30 Made in the Midlands May 2013 www.businessreport.co.uk


Tamworth based work-holding and machining firm Brown and Holm-

es Ltd has achieved record levels of growth, with sales hitting the £5m for the first time in its history. Plans are in place to further increase the turnover to £8m over the next three years.With a particular focus on future market requirements, Brown and Holmes Ltd has heavily invested in larger vertical CNC machines and in equipment which is set to re-duce the firm’s reliance on sub-con-tracting work. Also included in last year’s total investment of £450k are improvements to their design department. Having spent £30k on additional soft- and hardware, the company also hired two new design-

ers to further build on its existent expertise in the latest 3D design and solid modelling techniques.

Commenting on the growth of the company, joint Director Kevin Ward says, “I believe we are enjoying a re-surgence in British manufacturing thanks to the high level of engineer-ing expertise in the UK. In order to

Investments lead to record growth for Midlands workholding firm



Investments lead to record growth for Midlands workholding firm

continue our growth, we are current-ly forging relationships with overseas partners to supply our products on a global scale.”

Staff training has been another key to the firm’s success. All 52 em-ployees have received job-specific training over the past years, includ-ing hydraulics and PLC logic courses

as well as customer support train-ing. According to Ward, “everybody from apprentices up to Directors is included in our training plan which is being reviewed on a regular basis. Whilst we were originally focusing on capital investments, we realised very quickly that it is more important to invest in our own people to strength-en the business as a whole.” Current-ly, Brown and Holmes Ltd is working with a sales consultancy in order to improve the efficiency of its manage-ment systems, involving all its staff.

In addition to training its own staff, Brown and Holmes is also working closely with local educational institu-tions in an attempt to attract young people to their business. In the last year alone, the firm hired two more craft apprentices for its shop floor and two postgraduates for its design office.



Sub-contracting specialists Kep-ston Limited have just expand-ed their business, adding new

machinery to their Midlands sites in Aldridge and Wednesbury. With the investments totalling over £1.5m, the company is currently experiencing one of its strongest trading periods in its history.

Kepston Limited’s most recent investment has been made at its Aldridge site with the addition of a Moore 1200 – CP 180i high rise CNC Jig grinding machine. Further ce-menting the company’s leading position in the UK sub-contract jig grinding market, Kepston Limited’s Managing Director Brent

Millage says, “this latest investment was necessary to ensure we can meet increasing capacity requirements as well as maintain-ing the stringent quality standards expected from our customers.”Another addition to the site was made in the form of an EDM wire eroding plant. Being one of the largest in terms of component size in the UK, it has broadened Kepston Limited’s capability, with a number of new and existing customers already exercising the option.The firm’s Wednesbury site has also seen improvements as state of the art furnace equipment has been added to the location, ensuring that Kepston Limited remains the country’s top company for sub-contract

Kepston Limited invests £1.5m in new equipment



Kepston Limited invests £1.5m in new equipmentmesh belt furnace brazing for both mild steel and stainless steel components.Commenting on the company’s recent growth, Brent Millage adds, “our major suc-cess has been based on an exceptional team who, at times, had to make hard decisions such as taking investment risks at a difficult time. By listening to our customers and then supporting them with an excellent service, we have been able to move the business for-ward. One of the main reasons why we as a company are flourishing is because our cus-

tomers are doing well and feel that we have contributed to their success.”Kepston Limited’s sister company Kepston Motorcycle Services, which was only start-ed twelve months ago, is also seeing a con-tinuous growth. Specialised in motorbike servicing, repairs and MOTs, the business employs factory trained engineers to ensure best possible quality and customer service. In addition, the Burntwood based business has also started to gain a positive reputation for building its own track and race bikes.

defgCNC JIG GRINDING

CNC INTERNAL/EXTERNAL GRINDING

CNC TURNING

CNC MILLING

EDM WIRE EROSION

CONVENTIONAL JIG GRINDING

CONVENTIONAL

INTERNAL/EXTERNAL GRINDING

TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED

MANUFACTURING FACILITY

AS 9100 Rev:C Accredited

Contact: Andy Oakley Phone: 01922 743133 Email: [email protected] Unit 1 Coppice Lane Aldridge Walsall West Midlands WS9 9AA

defg

MILD STEEL FURNACE BRAZING

STAINLESS STEEL FURNACE

BRAZING

MAGNETIC ANNEALING

MILD/STAINLESS STEEL ANNEALING

NORMALISING

PRECIPITATION HARDENING

STRESS RELIEVING

AGEING

HYDROGEN DE-EMBRITTLEMENT

ISO 9001:2008 Accredited

Contact: Alan McCracken Phone: 0121 567 3216 Email: [email protected] Units 13-15 Western Way Wednesbury West Midlands WS10 7BW

MOT

SERVICING

TYRES

ACCIDENT & INSURANCE REPAIRS

PERFORMANCE PARTS

RACE/TRACK BIKE PREPARATION

PAINT WORK

Contact: Grant Flynn Phone: 01543 674937 Email: [email protected] Unit 6B Zone 4 Burntwood Business Park Burntwood Staffordshire WS7 3XD

http://www.kepston.co.uk



Join Made in the Midlands today!

Join the Made in the Midlands and get access to:

Your own unique microsite

Online tools to help you manage your social media and news

Keep your business updated with what’s happening in your industry

Meet new people in your industry

Have a voice to protect your business and sector

Support the next generation of engineers

www.madeinthemidlands.com

WATCH OUR VIDEO >

http://madeinthemidlands.com/learn-more


MADE IN THE MIDLANDSexperts in laser cutting services

Laser Process help manufacturers to improve performance

More than 20 years experience

Advanced, high speed laser systems

Project management

Technical advice

Highest quality standards

Nationwide delivery

LaserProcess

@LaserProcess

Read our blog atwww.laserprocess-blog.typepad.com

Laser Process Limited, Upper Keys, Cannock, Staffordshire, WS12 2GE

Telephone: 01543 495000 Fax: 01543 495001 Email: [email protected]

www.laserprocess.co.uk

Documents

Made in the Midlands exhibition 2013 handbook