Resurgent car industry puts Cab Automotive on course for fastest ever growth
THE resurgent UK car industry is helping a Black Country manufacturer target the fastest growth in its nine-year history.
New contracts have helped push turnover at Cab Automotive towards the £40m level and the increasing workload could see staffing numbers rise by 30%.
Recent wins have seen the firm, which produces a range of interior components including seats, arm rests, parcel trays and dashboard consoles, secure £7m of orders for the new BMW Mini and the seat foams for the Renault van.
The growth marks an exciting 12 months for the Tipton business, which has seen it work with the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) to develop new opportunities and, importantly, buy its 200,000 sq ft factory.
Richard McCulloch, Finance Director, said: “We’ve gone from £20m in 2012 to a predicted £40m by the end of this year, with plenty of new opportunities in the pipeline.
“Managing this growth was one thing, but at the same time we were told by our landlord that there was a chance our facility could be sold. The only solution was to buy the land, as that would give us the platform and security to plan for the next decade.”
He said working with MAS supply chain specialist Rachel Eade had enabled the business to secure £1m from the Regional Growth Fund towards the £4.5m cost of the premises.
“Without the strategic and financial support we received we may have had to look outside the region for our next base, which wouldn’t have been ideal from a skills point of view. Thankfully, we are here to stay in the Black Country and will hopefully be in a position to create more local jobs shortly,” he added.
As part of the expansion, Cab Automotive has spent more than £4m on capital equipment, a state-of-the-art foam production line, new machines for wrapping BMW Mini arm rests and a new water jet cutter.
The company is a tier 1 and tier 2 supplier into some of the biggest automotive OEMs in the world, including Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin, Nissan, Toyota and McLaren Automotive.
A focus on getting involved in the early stage development of new components has also led to the firm designing and manufacturing a bespoke rear passenger iPad tray for the Bentley Mulsanne.
Ms Eade said: “This is a fantastic story of how an automotive supplier has experienced dramatic expansion, even overcoming the volatility of the sector and the global downturn in 2009.
“Throughout its journey, the management team have tapped into external expertise and support when they needed it. This allowed them to focus on what they do best. The company is now on the verge of moving from a SME into a larger manufacturer. Importantly, it is staying in the West Midlands, creating skilled jobs and, where possible, sourcing from the local supply chain.”
