Pictured above: Paul Heath, Managing Director of Zincast Foundry

One of the last remaining die casters in the West Midlands is celebrating a major contract haul after tapping into funding from the Automotive Response Programme (ARP).

Zincast Foundry has used a £17,000 grant to test out new materials and processes that have already resulted in a £800,000 order from Makita Tools and the creation of six new jobs.

The announcement, which was made by Regional Minister Ian Austin today, marks an important milestone for the Advantage West Midlands and European Regional Development Fund-backed Automotive Response Programme, with more than £2.3 million now committed to helping manufacturers emerge from the recession.

Delivered by the Manufacturing Advisory Service in partnership with automotive experts Accelerate, ARP is designed to provide component makers with up to £50,000 of specialist expertise to help with business consolidation, refinancing, new product introduction and supply chain improvement.

The £4.5 million investment is open to companies of all sizes, ranging from SMEs to tier 1s and even local car producers, who could all benefit from the programme

Ian Austin, West Midlands Taskforce Chair and Regional Minister, said: "This funding package is already making a difference to more than 100 companies in the West Midlands and Zincast is a prime example of the business and economic benefits that can be achieved. Through the Taskforce we have listened to the industry and responded with this tailored programme of support, which I know is providing vital support to the automotive supply chain in these stormy times."

Established in the 1930s, Zincast is one of the few remaining West Midland foundries specialising in aluminium and zinc alloy pressure and gravity die casting, employing nearly 50 people from its facility in Willenhall and serving customers in the auto, white goods and construction sectors.

The dedicated support has seen it introduce new processes on the shopfloor, improve efficiency, reduce costs and importantly look at diversification through testing the possibility of magnesium casting, which offers a number of weight saving advantages compared to existing methods.

ARP funding has certainly speeded up the feasibility study and this has paid immediate dividends with a £800,000 contract brought back from Czech Republic to supply belt sander parts and safety covers for international power tool manufacturer Makita, based in Telford.

The increase in work has created six new positions at the company and there are also plans to maximise sales growth as a result of the weakness of the pound by bringing more international business back to the UK.

Paul Heath, Managing Director at Zincast Foundry, commented: "Like many firms in our sector we have had an uncertain year with sales fluctuating rapidly from month to month. With this in mind, we were keen to look at ways where we could increase our sales through introducing new services and processes and the Automotive Response funding has given us a major boost in achieving this.

"We have already increased turnover to £2 million, created new jobs and feel confident of continuing this growth into 2010 and beyond."

Mick Laverty, Chief Executive at Advantage West Midlands, said: "The Automotive Response Programme is a direct result of us asking companies what they need to survive the recession and then to prosper. Advantage West Midlands was convinced of the business case and has found £4.5 million to support the initiative.  It's heartening that companies like Zincast are using this funding to seize new opportunities and I hope many more companies will come forward and also benefit their bottom lines." 

Simon Griffiths, Chief Executive of the Manufacturing Advisory Service-West Midlands, provided the final rallying cry: "ARP is a proven way for automotive suppliers in our region to access specialist support when they need it most and we would encourage companies to call us on the MAS hotline (0845 245 0845) to find out how we can assist.

"In these difficult times we understand how important it is to make sure this money is directed to companies as quickly as possible and, considering the current level of interest, I would expect the remainder of the funding to be committed in the next four to six weeks. 

"So far, we have had a lot of interest from SMEs and therefore are keen to remind larger businesses, especially tier 1s, that the funding is also open to them and they can use it to improve performance, launch new processes and increase sales."