£80m turnover engineering group pledges to double workforce in three years

A Birmingham engineering firm has announced ambitious plans to double the size of its turnover and workforce by 2020.

Kings Norton-based adi Group currently has a turnover of £80m and employs more than 550 people.

The expansion, revealed at the company’s annual conference at the National Motorcycle Museum, near the NEC, while ambitious, is not with precedent.

Founded as a single business offering by chief executive Alan Lusty in 1990, the group has quadrupled in size over the last decade.

In its Vision 2020 business plan, the firm said it was on track to generate major employment opportunities across the Midlands.

It said it would be creating a number of highly skilled roles, the majority of which will be trade engineering positions, to service its portfolio of high-profile clients.

Key to the expansion is the goal to build upon its pre-apprenticeship scheme – the UK’s first apprenticeship for 14-16 year olds – and to create nearly 50 new pre-apprenticeships by 2020.

Its vision is for the pre-apprenticeship model to be adopted by businesses not just in engineering, but across all industries, ultimately reaching out to thousands of children via a network of like-minded businesses interacting with their local schools.

The group said it was also committed to increasing the number of its apprentices to the equivalent of 5% of its total employees, as part of the 5% Club initiative.

Alan Lusty, CEO at adi Group, said: “The manufacturing sector in our area is thriving, with 600,000 people in the Midlands working in the industry, delivering over 21% of the UK’s annual manufacturing output.

“Government plans to invest £392m across the Midlands via the Midlands Engine initiative is very exciting for us, and our aim is to contribute by utilising the local skilled workforce by creating new jobs and boosting the local economy.”