Aldridge firm lights the way to £5m turnover

AN Aldridge electronics firm is on course to hit the £5m turnover mark for the first time in its seven year-history after reshoring the manufacture of two new products.

One-LUX designs, assembles and supplies LED lighting control solutions. The company has recently doubled the size of its factory to 10,000 sq ft to grow its assembly capabilities, with plans being drawn up to manufacture more products in the UK.

Backed by support from the Business Growth Service, the company has successfully identified supply chain partners in the UK to help it assemble and bring to market the OMNI-LED and UNITY-LED ranges.

Both products are designed to provide peace of mind and the required illumination to aid safe evacuation and are poised to bring in an additional £1m of sales in 2015.

“We’ve always designed our products in-house but previously offshored high volume lines to the Far East to ensure we remained competitive against our rivals,” said Glynnis Murray, who founded the business in 2008.

“However, in the last year we had noticed a desire from our customers to buy British made products and this, when combined with demand for shorter lead times, made us consider exploring manufacturing closer to home.”

She said working with the Business Growth Service’s Manufacturing Advisory Service it had mapped out its supply chain requirement and then got directed to a number of firms which could meet its requirements.

“We were pleasantly surprised at how competitive local suppliers were and, combined with the greater control we now have over lead times and quality is going to be a major bonus as the demand for OMNI-LED and UNITY-LED will be significant,” she added.

“Our decision to place production with a UK sub-contract manufacturer has already created five jobs there, with more to come.”

One-LUX, which employs 25 people, is also working with MAS on the introduction of Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) into the new ranges.

Bosses at the company used mentoring support from Business Growth Manager Jas Bahra and GROW:OffshoreWind funding to bring in an electronics specialist to help with prototyping, functionality and integration.

This ensured that the firm’s products now sit on building management systems and can be remotely operated and tested.

“We can now supply a number of exciting new markets providing us with a great opportunity to grow past £5m.

“The Business Growth Service understood our business and where we wanted to go, providing advice, guidance and funding support exactly when it mattered,” added Ms Murray.

Jas Bahra said: “This is a true reshoring success story and has the potential to create a lot more than the five jobs it has already generated.

“The management team is now in a perfect position to take advantage of greater supply chain control and improved flexibility.

“It is also tapping into support from Birmingham and Wolverhampton Universities to utilise 3D printing and we’ve played an active role in integrating numerous standalone systems, reducing paperwork and increase traceability in the process.”