Sheet metal fabricator Grenville Engineering has invested more than £520,000 in new machinery as part of its plans to grow by 10 per cent every year.
The Stoke-on-Trent business has seen the installation of a new Trumpf fibre laser, a Haegar fastener insertion machine and a hexagon absolute arm.
The new technology will allow the company to process a variety of material from stainless steel to copper and brass – and cut up to 25mm.
It is hoped the investment will lead to Grenville winning additional orders from new and existing customers across a variety of sectors including automotive, construction and earth moving.
Sales director Stuart Rawlinson said: “We have invested more than half-a-million pounds in three new machines and in improving our inspection arm.
“The aim is to increase capacity and improve delivery times to customers. The company’s strategy moving forward is to grow.
“The laser cutter can cut materials such as copper and brass and it can cut thicker materials, so this could potentially open up new markets for us.”
Nick Wilshaw, production manager at Grenville, said: “It is important that we can continue to service our existing customers and to do that we needed to upgrade our technology.
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“The new machinery will allow us to get things done quickly which will open up more doors for the sales side of the business.”
Last year, Grenville Engineering worth in excess of £400,000 for a customer in the petrochemical sector.
And since then it has increased its workforce to around 70 staff – who are all based at the company’s headquarters on Newfield Industrial Estate, in Tunstall.
Nick added: “A lot of our success is down to diversification and the fact that we operate in so many different industries.
“As a business we have got more than 30 years of experience which means we have expertise in many different sectors.”
Stuart said: “The established relationships we have got with our customers are very important to us because when our customers grow, we grow with them.
“We are a diverse business and we have to be responsive to change.”
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On the back of its latest investment, Grenville Engineering is continuing in its efforts to win new customers from further afield by attending an additional trade show this year.
Marketing manager Atia Bukhari said; “We are still going to trade shows because we are keen to get our name out there and become a recognised brand in the fabrication sector.
“We usually attend two shows a year but will hopefully increase that to three after this year.”