West Midlands Business Masters Awards: Manufacturers and exporters ready to slug it out
AS we rapidly approach TheBusinessDesk.com’s West Midlands Business Masters Awards 2015, we take a closer look at the contenders.
Today we focus on the four categories for manufacturers and exporters.
In the Manufacturer (SME) category Fracino takes on Mercian Labels and Penso Group.
Birmingham’s Fracino is the UK’s only manufacturer of espresso and capuccino coffee machines.
Launched in a garden shed in 1963 by engineer Frank Maxwell it is now a third generation family busines turning over £4.1m in 2014.
Renowned for selling machines to the Italians, its UK customers include the likes of Patisserie Valerie, Druckers and pubco Marston’s.
Staffordshire’s Mercian Labels is a label manufacturer which is growing rapidly.
In the last year it has moved its factory, quadrupling its size in the process, added 30% to its headcount and increased sales by 20%. It has also invested in two new manufacturing lines.
It is at the forefront of the structural shift in labelling from traditional analogue to digital technology.
Coventry’s Penso Group is a fast growing manufacturer which has invested significantly in creating new lightweight solutions for the automotive, aerospace, defence and rail sectors.
It has added £4m of sales to its its annual turnover in the last 12 months and works with the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley and Mercedes Benz.
To cope with the additional work, more than 60 new positions have been created with the prospect of a further 80 jobs this year.
In the always keenly anticipated Manufacturer (Large) category, the shortlisted companies are Aston Manor Cider, Dunlop Aircraft Tyres, Portmeirion and ZF Lemforder.
Birmingham’s Aston Manor Cider turned over £128.1m in 2013 and is now the UK’s largest independent cider maker. The company is 100% family owned.
By the end of this year the firm will have more than 1,300 acres of orchards in Worcestershire and Herefordshire while its apple pressing facility is a purpose-built plant in Stourport-upon-Severn.
To deal with its growth Aston Manor is planning a new logistics facility in Birmingham and the investment it has made and continues to make is increasing both capacity and capability.
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres, also based in Birmingham, is a major manufacturer with turnover of £39m+ and profit of £5.5m in the year ended 2013.
It is a name that is known throughout the world and is increasingly international in its outlook with 80% of its products exported and facilities in China with the US likely to follow soon.
It already support a number of US-based airlines.
Stoke-on-Trent’s Portmeirion is a pottery manufacturing success story.
Revenue reached £61.4m for the year ending 2014 and the firm created 80 jobs that year in an area of economic deprivation.
In January it announced an expansion of its production capacity in Stoke where it has commissioned a new tunnel kiln and other production equipment at a cost of £1.5m.
ZF Lemforder, based in Solihull, had a turnover of £223.9m in 2013 compared to £161.2m the year before and profit near tripled over 12 months to £6.2m.
The firm is a principal supplier to Jaguar land Rover, supplying axle sub-assemblies for use on models such as Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.
Its second assembly line will shortly enter full production and the company may adopt a three shift sytem to keep up with JLR’s demand.
In the Exporter (SME) category, Crofts & Assinder competes with Fracino and Ultraseal International.
Crofts & Assinder, which specialises in the design and maanufacture of cabinet handles and fittings, has increased its international trade significantly over the last three years which has resulted in export sales leaping by 10% in the last year alone.
Export sales now represent 40% of the Birmingham firm’s trunover.
Already exporting to countries such as Australia, the US and Germany, its most recently penetrated market is Russia.
As we have heard, Birmingham coffee machine manufacturer Fracino is renowned for selling machines to the Italians. Its 12% sales increase in the last financial year includes £1m in export sales.
It has penetrated the Chinese market via a major contract with a Chinese distributor and now exports to 13 countries including Guatemala, Lebanon and Antarctica, where a Fracino machine has been installed on the Australia’s Aurora Australia ship.
Ultraseal International is forecasting £17m for this year and export’s now account for 98% of its sales.
The Coventry firm designs and manufactures vacuum impregantion equipment and porosity sealants with automotive being a key market.
It has a joint venture in China and India, an operation in the US, an office in Japan and a formal presence in Germany.
In the Exporter (Large) category Dunlop Aircraft Tyres takes on GKN Driveline and Portmeirion.
As previously mentioned, Birmingham’s Dunlop Aircraft Tyres is a major manufacturer with a global presence.
It is expanding in the Americas through a new retreading fracility in the US.
Its customers include Compass Airlines and Republic Airlines with Republic recently placing an order for tyres for 50 aircraft.
The local tyre retreading and distribution strategy has already succeeded in the Asia Pacific area.
GKN Driveline has 56 facilities in 22 countries working in partnership with vehicle manufacturers to develop driveshaft and geared component technologies.
A joint venture in China has invested $850m to strengthen its position in a key market.
GKN Driveline saw organic sales rise 11% to £1.76bn in 2014.
Portmeirion, whom we have already met, is successfully exporting its pottery from its North Staffordshire base.
The firm supplies its products to more than 60 countries throughout the world.
The US is its largest market, representing nearly a third of its sales, while South Korea and India are also strong markets for the firm.
The Business Masters Awards take place on the evening of Thursday June 11 at Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham.
There’s still time to book your seats or to sponsor an award category.
If you are interested in taking a table or a number of seats for the awards dinner please send an email with your requirements to Ellie Callender at ellie@outthereevents.com
For sponsorship inquiries please e-mail Brett Murray at brett.murray@thebusinessdesk.com or call him on 07875 499667.
You would be joining our existing sponsors: Birmingham Airport, law firm Higgs & Sons, accountancy firm MHA Bloomer Heaven and Hotel La Tour.
Hotel La Tour, based in Albert Street near Moor Street station in central Birmingham, is also offering a special room rate for those attending the Masters awards. A single occupancy room will cost £85 on the night with a £10 supplement for double occupancy.
Call 0121 718 8000 or email reservations@hotel-latour.co.uk to take advantage of the offer. Quote Business Desk Awards to get the special price.
It must be booked 14 days in advance.
