Pictured above: Simon Woods, managing director of
Tecquipment, with one of the metal components from the 35,000 in
stock at the company's premises in Long Eaton
A company boss and business leader has issued a rallying call
for local manufacturing firms to pull together to help boost output
and prevent work going abroad.
Simon Woods, managing director of Long Eaton-based TecQuipment,
a specialist manufacturer of educational equipment, says his firm
has a good order book but urgently needs help.
His company is working at full capacity, with some of his 67
employees working shifts and overtime to meet demand.
But he says his company needs more help with components and,
despite a history of engineering and manufacturing in the area, a
search for assistance has not been successful.
Now he wants manufacturers to band together and co-operate for
all their benefit, rather than lose orders and work to foreign
firms.
TecQuipment makes 700 different products, ranging from simple
mechanisms to supersonic wind tunnels, gas turbines and power
system simulators all used in engineering education.
These products range from the type of equipment used by A-level
physics students to that used by engineering under and
post-graduates at universities in the UK and across the world.
TecQuipment, which sells to around 70 countries, had its highest
ever number of export orders in June made up from 65 different
customers. In the last four months alone it has won orders worth
£1.5m from 34 different countries following an investment in
new product development.
Simon says that despite all hands at the pump TecQuipment needs
additional machining capacity, particularly in traditional milling
and turning. He has even supplied materials to contractors for
working on to make the sub-contract task easier.
"If we can't supply these orders on time we risk losing future
business to overseas competitors," he said.
"Finding quality sub-contractors to supply precision small batch
turned and milled components has proved extremely difficult.
"I want to keep the work in the UK and as locally as possible,"
he said, "but I can understand why so much work goes overseas."
In his capacity as chairman of enterprise agency Erewash
Partnership Simon believes manufacturing is important to
regenerating the local economy.
He is keen to encourage local manufacturers to join the
Partnership which is supported by more than 400 businesses - many
of them in the service industries - so that sharing work locally,
particularly among Partnership associates, could be easier.
He is happy for his company's premises in Bonsall Street to host
events for manufacturing companies.
"If we can have small firms working together and supporting each
other we can have a brighter future for ourselves and our
employees," he said.
Ian Viles, chief executive of the Partnership, said: "I am very
supportive of Simon's initiative to source products and services
locally and would encourage local engineering and manufacturing
businesses to register their details with the Partnership.
"This will enable us to become even more effective in helping
local manufacturing companies to procure engineering and other
services locally."