Steatite targets £30m revenue growth

A TECHNOLOGY manufacturer is fighting back from recession with an ambitious expansion strategy aimed at doubling turnover through a process of organic growth and acquisition.

Steatite, which manufactures technology such as battery packs and rugged systems for a range of industries, already has a turnover close to £16m but managing director John Lavery said his plan was to see this grow to £30m over the next few years.

“We don’t think this is out of the question. We have had a strategy of identifying firms which will add value to the business and have made three successful acquisitions in the past few years,” he said.

“I want to see this policy continue and I’m looking for at least one acquisition a year over the next three to four years to ensure we staying on track with where we want to be.

“We are lucky because we have a good relationship with our bank. They understand what we are about and what we are trying to do and they are backing us.”

In addition to the acquisitions, the firm, which employs 60 people, has recently moved into new, larger premises in Redditch in order to meet capacity.

“Our old unit was only 12,000sq ft and we’d simply outgrown it. We identified new premises close by and completed the move over Christmas,” said Mr Lavery.

“This has given us 25,000sq ft and room to grow in the future.”

During 2010, first half profits rose by 48% with sales increasing by 22% compared to the same period in 2009. This reflects the growth of new   product development, key target market penetration and a strategy of focus on its key customer base.

The growth has been facilitated by a series of high profile contract wins.

It has just won an order worth more than £2m with a leading global defence and security company, while it has also secured a major contract to supply to Europe’s leading distributor of electronic, electrical and industrial components.

In December, it won a contract in excess of £100,000 to supply industrial computers with custom operating systems to the new BBC site in Manchester for use in various control applications.

It has also secured a major contract worth more than £250,000 with public sector and utility industry support services group Enterprise, while other big customers include Halliburton, Selex, EADs Astrium – giving the firm a strong order book for the next 12 months.