Laser cutting firm hits £400k sales target

The Oldbury-based manufacturer, which specialises in laser cutting and bending metal, currently employs 35 people and is now aiming for a £5 million turnover by the end of this financial year.

The business was formed by company directors Jon Till and Steve Morgan over a decade ago and has grown steadily during this time.

"We have come a long way," said Mr Till. "Steve and I set up this business together just over 10 years ago and we have watched it go from strength to strength.

"In the beginning, we both worked long 18 hour days and put blood, sweat and tears into building the business up from scratch. From quoting jobs to mailing promotional flyers, book keeping and delivering customer orders, we did it all, so to find ourselves in the position we are in today is a very proud moment. We now have a fully equipped, 14200 square foot premises and a dedicated workforce who have all contributed to our success. For that we are extremely grateful".

"2016 has been our best year to date." added Mr Morgan.

"For the first time in our company history, we have now broken the £400,000 sales barrier in a single month. For a company which deals with small to medium batch work, this is a phenomenal achievement and will only help drive us towards further investment and success."

Following last year's £1.6m investment project, the firm are now reaping the benefits of its new manufacturing capabilities. It now has a 4 metre x 2 metre fiber laser and a dedicated 4 metre 320 tonne pressbrake facility at its headquarters, providing the extra capacity to turnaround customer orders much more quickly.

A sales and marketing drive has also provided an added boost to profits at the company. Following the appointment of sales manager Mitchell Bradley in 2008, the department has grown into a strong team of experienced administrators, executives and engineers. More recently, the firm's decision to employ marketing administrator Natalie Poole has also proved successful, with them seeing a rise in demand for quotations as a result of a newly introduced marketing strategy.

Mitchell Bradley said: "With a fresh push on marketing and a continued investment in machinery, people and software, we have seen a 40 per cent increase in enquiries for our services over the past 12 months. This is fantastic news for the business as we are now seeing our turnover increase month by month."

A recent investment in bespoke quoting software SigmaNEST is also expected to aid further sales growth for the laser cutting firm. Mr Bradley said: "This latest software investment will have a major impact on our sales team as it provides us with the capacity to produce higher volumes of quotations with increased levels of accuracy."

Other investments planned for 2016 include the acquirement of a second fiber laser which will increase production capacity and offer reduced lead times for customers.

Mr Bradley added: "With further investments on the horizon, I can't wait to see what we can achieve by this time next year and look forward to the challenge that lies ahead."