Manufacturer flying high with jet fighter contract

A South Yorkshire manufacturer has won a major contract to supply specialist parts for jet fighters planes around the world.

It is the latest contract for the Hoyland firm set up six years ago by two partners determined to focus on manufacturing specialist parts to industry.

Ryan Taylor and Shaun Palmer set up Oracle Precision with the aim of manufacturing highly specialised unique parts across sectors as diverse as rail, medical and aerospace.

The company now employs 16 at its Shortwood Business Park factory and is on the look out for bigger premises.

“The latest contract runs for circa five years and will see the team manufacture components for missiles used by jet fighter planes around the world.  It is a world away from more recent work that included medical drills and parts that improved rail safety,” said Taylor.

“Our DNA is that we look for better solutions for customer’s problems through innovation. We have built up a reputation of adding value by suggesting innovations in manufacturing that improve efficiency for our customers.

“Customers ask us to make things and we will suggest they try doing things differently.  It can be a leap of faith because you don’t know if it will work until you have invested time and money, but in recent years we have been able to reclaim that investment back through the R&D tax credit scheme.

“It enables us to invest the time, raw materials and energy in experimentation that might not work.  If it does, both our customers and ourselves benefit, but significantly our risk is rewarded by the R&D tax credit scheme.”

Jumpstart R&D tax credits specialists helped Oracle Precision with their reclaims.

“We didn’t think we were eligible.  After all we make things, that’s our business.  Jumpstart made us understand that the technical complexities and risks we were taking would attract R&D tax credits,” said Taylor.

“They analysed all our work, examined the level of technical uncertainty and prepared a comprehensive dossier for HMRC.   We don’t have the time or knowledge to make comprehensive claims and the cash they win back for us is reinvested straight back into the business. It has allowed us to employ apprentices and buy new machinery,” he added.

Nicole Ballantyne, Jumpstart business development manager for Yorkshire, said: “Oracle Precision is testament to the engineering and innovation skills we have in Yorkshire.  Many pioneering companies like Oracle Precision believe their experimentation is run of the mill.  It isn’t and it attracts valuable R&D tax credits they can plough back into their businesses.

“Jumpstart can unravel the minutiae so that they present a robust claim that truly reflects their client’s investment.”