MBO flicks switch for growth at manufacturing firm

Lewis Kielty, Cheryl Hutchins and Stuart Raffles

Bosses as a manufacturing and distribution company in Lincoln are celebrating after becoming its new owners.

The Greenstock Lamp Company’s managing director Stuart Raffles and newest directors – Lewis Keilty (sales & purchasing) and Cheryl Hutchins (production) – are poised to grow the multimillion-pound business after completing an MBO.

The move follows the retirement of long-standing director Clifford Bulgin, who had been at the helm of Greenstock Lamp for a quarter of acentury.

Raffles said: “We are over the moon to have completed the MBO. This is something we had all been talking about for some time and it has come about by mutual agreement.

“The company is in good shape and we are expecting turnover to breach the £4 million mark during 2021/22.

Keilty said: “Despite the challenges experienced over the past few months, we can clearly see the company going from strength to strength, with exciting developments in the pipeline.”

The company, which is based off Whisby Road employs nearly 50 people, including 20 outworkers.

“It’s great to have an excellent workforce behind us and really low levels of staff turnover. Several employees have been with us for 15 years or more,” added Keilty.

With directors keen to achieve a 20 per cent lift in sales, compared to the pre-Covid period, the OEM division is poised to lead the way. A specialist in cable harnesses, over-moulded products and pcb encapsulation, it already accounts for 80% of company sales to the marine, automotive, construction, utility, metering and medical industries.

Greenstock produces cables and connector mouldings for wheelchairs, electric vehicle charging units, air conditioning units and smart energy systems.

Other customers are in the health, leisure, retail and food production sectors.

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Hutchins said: “We are really looking forward to growing our worldwide customer base and to investing funds back into the business.

“We have already made a start by ordering an extra over-moulding machine, for our busy OEM division, at a cost of £100,000. It is being in delivered in December.

“As a company our focus is firmly on ensuring our loyal workforce is happy and productive.”

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