Manufacturing alliance aims to top £1m order book from trade show
A MIDLANDS manufacturing alliance is aiming to boost its order books by taking part in a major trade show.
The Midlands Assembly Network (MAN), whose 10 members cover a broad spectrum of mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering processes, secured more than 50 leads and £1m of new orders after attending its first Southern Manufacturing event last year.
The sub-contracting partnership is hoping that this year’s event, which begins tomorrow, will prove even more successful.
For this year’s event, MAN will have a brand new exhibition stand (Q24) and marketing material that illustrates expansion into key sectors, including automotive, aerospace, medical and renewables.
“There is nothing like MAN anywhere in Europe and we want to take this unique approach to a whole new audience who may not know about us,” said MAN chairman Gerry Dunne.
“The beauty of our offer is that clients can choose exactly the number of members they need to complete the project…this could be one, two, three or even the entire group. Taking this approach has already helped many of our customers save money, launch new products and meet stringent quality guidelines.”
Mr Dunne, managing director of Westley Engineering, said the group already knew of 10 potential clients who would be at the event and who have requested meetings with the group.
“It appears that in today’s tough climate, more and more companies are looking for new ways of working with their suppliers and our single-source solution appears very popular,” he said.
MAN comprises: Advanced Chemical Etching, Alucast, Barkley Plastics, Brandauer, FW Cables, Lightning Aerospace, PP Electrical Systems, SMT Developments, Westley Engineering and Wrekin Circuits.
Together, they employ nearly 800 people across 11 factories and turnover a combined £70m, with 30% of components going overseas.
Some of the group’s main achievements this year include making parts for the Olympic Torch, ground-breaking work on an alternative fuel cell and repatriating more than £3m automotive and aerospace work to the UK.
