Success as deals keep rolling in

A boom in manufacturing is proving good news for one Wolverhampton company, which makes its living supplying factory equipment to some of the biggest names in UK industry.

A string of major civil and military aviation contracts has boosted work at two of the biggest aerospace firms in the UK, Goodrich and GE Aviation, both of which have factories in the city.

Both are now customers of German-owned Heinrich Georg, which builds manufacturing equipment at its Dunstall Hill Estate factory on Gorsebrook Road.

Clive Beese, appointed sales director at the beginning of the year, said: "We are winning work at the moment from some very big names. We already supplied GE Aviation's factory in Wolverhampton and we are now making two machines for the Goodrich factory in the city.

"Our biggest clients have traditionally been steel processing companies, such as Corus and they are keeping us very busy at the moment.

"As well as the aerospace work, we are making processing equipment for Cogent Orb Electrical Steels and for Corus' Llanwern plant, both in Newport, as well as special purpose machinery for Steel & Alloy in West Bromwich.

"Although the UK is our main market – with our German parent covering the rest of Europe – we have also made slitting line equipment recently for Corus Tubes in Holland. And our German parent has given us the job of designing and manufacturing several machines for them that are destined for Russia, Poland, Germany and Belgium."

Now the company has expanded further, taking on a third unit on the Dunstall Hill Estate, expanding its floorspace by a third to cope with increasing orders.

Headed by managing director Neil Wyke and operations director Roger Jones, the company's workforce has grown to than two dozen people and turnover for the UK business is up to around £5 million. Mr Beese added: "Things are looking very positive for manufacturing."