Wednesfield wheelbarrow manufacturer invests in new machinery

The growth has come with the help of a £150,000 working capital facility from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

The Walsall Wheelbarrow Company, based on Phoenix Road, has been established for more than 20 years and supplies its wheelbarrows to distributors and directly to trade and retail outlets including Homebase and Selco.

The firm decided to cut the cost of buying some parts by making them in house. To facilitate this, the business needed to buy a plastic injection moulding machine to produce the inner plastic face of the wheels on its wheelbarrow.

It turned to Lloyds Bank’s Commercial Finance team to secure a working capital facility to acquire the machine, which will help to reduce input costs allowing the firm to reinvest the money it has saved back into the business.

The new kit expanded the now 50-strong workforce by almost 10 per cent.

Jonathan Thacker, director of The Walsall Wheelbarrow Company, said: “With the help of funding from Lloyds Bank, we were able to buy advanced machinery that will have a massive impact on the way we produce our wheelbarrows.

“Now, with the new equipment and extra manpower, we will be able to re-invest the capital previously spent on importing parts elsewhere in the business, for example in robotics to allow us to further enhance productivity and expand.”

Phil Davies, relationship director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “The Walsall Wheelbarrow Company is well known for the quality of its products. This, combined with the fact the business operates in a niche market sector, means it’s the go-to manufacturer of wheelbarrows.

“We have an experienced team of manufacturing sector specialists, allowing us to help firms like The Walsall Wheelbarrow Company realise their growth potential and help Britain prosper. As part of this we have committed to providing over £1bn of funding to the manufacturing sector by the end of 2017.”