Change at the top for manufacturer Brandauer
BIRMINGHAM manufacturer Brandauer has undergone a change in its senior management, with its current managing director opting to step down to prepare for retirement.
David Spears has been in charge at the award-winning Aston firm for the past 13 years but now the respected manufacturer is stepping aside in favour of sales and marketing director, Rowan Crozier.
The move will see Spears act in a non-executive position for the business, which has ambitious plans to grow sales beyond £10m and create up to 20 jobs by 2017.
At the heart of this vision is a desire to capitalise on its strength in complex components and engineering expertise by launching a new specialist products division, together with a concerted export drive into Germany, Scandinavia and the United States.
“We have had a number of new business wins, which lay down the foundations for greater growth over the next three to five years,” said Crozier, who becomes the firm’s new Chief Executive Officer.
“UK manufacturing is in demand at the moment and we’ve noticed companies not only reshoring work, but previously hard to enter international markets welcoming our capabilities.
“There’s an increasing capacity issue in Germany for what we do, which we can solve relatively easily given the chance. We’ve also just landed two orders from Sweden and Norway and believe there is a lot more potential out there.”
The firm already exports 75% of its turnover and it has ambitions to increase this to 80%, possibly even 85% if new opportunities emerge in Europe.
Spears, who first joined Brandauer as an apprentice toolmaker in 1974, will remain in a non-executive capacity to help it work towards its five-year plan.
After two periods with other manufacturers he returned to the firm in 1999 as Operations Director before being appointed Managing Director in 2001.
During his 13-year spell he guided the company through two major recessions by creating a business that competes globally and leads through innovation and investment.
“I’ve had a great time at Brandauer, but it’s now right to hand on to the next generation and let them take the business even further forward,” he said.
“There’s been plenty of highlights from rebuilding the firm after the telecoms crash and winning a record £2.5m one-off contract, to being a founding member of the Midlands Assembly Network and hosting the HRH Princess Royal’s visit as part of our 150-year celebration.
“As it stands Brandauer has a talented workforce, the finest equipment and a great factory… going forward these elements need gelling together by Rowan and his team to produce a diverse, world class competitive solution for our customers.”
Brandauer, which currently employs 56 people at its Bridge Street West factory, has invested heavily this year, with £800,000 spent acquiring a new wire EDM cell and, following support from the Green Bridge Supply Chain Programme, £430,000 channeled into a state-of-the-art paperless business system.
The latter will increase efficiency across every area of the business and controls everything including taking the initial enquiry via CRM, supplier scheduling, factory workflow and new product introductions.
