Turnover at Stadco passes £200m mark

Turnover grew by 22 per cent to £203 million in a year in which the car parts maker brought in new business, and invested £15 million in its biggest bases in Telford and Shrewsbury.

Stadco, which has its headquarters and largest factory at Hadley Park in Telford, with others at Shrewsbury and Llanfyllin in Powys, also delivered increased operating profit of £13 million, compared with £12.9 million the year before.

It is now putting the final touches to its latest investment, worth £15.2 million, which will see the company putting in four massive new transfer presses into Telford, and turning its Shrewsbury factory into a "fully equipped Assembly Centre of Excellence".

The first of the new presses was due to go into action in the first half of this year, producing parts for the new Jaguar XE.

And it is the company's relationship with JLR, and OEM which is riding the crest of a wave of success at present, that provides a positive outlook for the future for pressings company Stadco.

"The outlook for 2015 remains positive and confidence remains strong that customer forecast volumes will remain resilient and in line with management expectations," it said in a statement along with the accounts.

"Although the European automotive sector continues to face economic challenges, a significant proportion of production relates to Jaguar Land Rover, whose models continue to sell well both in the UK and global markets."

The vast bulk of Stadco's business was achieved in the UK over the course of 2014, with £195.6 million of turnover generated in the UK.

Poland was the second largest market with £2.6 million of business, then Sweden (£2.3 million), Spain (£1.2 million), Germany (1.1 million) and the rest of the world (£237,000).

All regions except Poland enjoyed growth in turnover compared with the previous year.

"Production revenues generated in the manufacturing facilities increased by 20 per cent, driven by new business and increases in customer volumes on existing business," the statement added.

"There was also a significant project activity demonstrated by a 36 per cent increase in revenue against prior year, as a result of new programme activity in support of a number of major customer vehicle launches."

Stadco employed just under 900 people on average during the course of the year, a fall of around 10 compared to the year before.

As well as its three plants in Shropshire and Mid Wales, at which it makes steel and aluminium pressings for cars, the company also has a factory at Castle Bromwich on the edge of Birmingham, where JLR has its main assembly plant in the UK.

The pressings and sub-assemblies, when welded together by the end manufacturer, make up a complete unpainted car body.

The year also saw Stadco dispose of its shareholding in CAD-CAM Automotive, which makes low-volume and prototype press tools for the motor industry.