Pictured: Tim Walker, finance director at The Seat Design Company

A Derbyshire seating manufacturer has not taken success sitting down after reaping the rewards of a major business support project.

The Seat Design Company, based in Alfreton, is set to expand after it benefitted from funding and support to help with marketing and training through the Supply Chains for the 21st Century (SC21) programme and the Manufacturing Advisory Service.

The company, which employs 16 people, specialises in vehicle seating design and manufacture, particularly in the automotive and defence market, and develops prototypes and seating for clients such as BAE Systems, Bentley, Lear and Aston Martin.

Involvement with the defence sector introduced the business to SC21 and has resulted in a host of benefits for the firm as it prepares for future growth.

Funding allowed university students from Rollins College, in Florida, to visit and work collaboratively with the firm for a week to conduct research which helped the company gain a better understanding of markets it was either targeting or currently operating in.

The business was also given marketing training from experts and took part in three months of sales training.

Tim Walker, finance director at The Seat Design Company, said: "The marketing study was an extremely valuable exercise and has helped us better understand key markets as we look to carry out our planned growth.

"SC21 also helped us to formally introduce new and more efficient procedures earlier than would otherwise have been possible.

"It ensured as we prepare to grow and do grow, that all best practice procedures are applied easily and without the need for a great deal of intervention.

"It has helped us with measurement and given us some extra details to assist with monitoring business performance."

The SC21 programme, managed in the region by The Midlands Aerospace Alliance (MAA), is designed to improve the competitiveness of companies throughout the supply chain, helping them compete successfully against overseas competitors in the global aerospace and defence markets.

MAA has worked with the A|D|S, the national industry body advancing AeroSpace, Defence and Security, to deliver SC21 in Derbyshire and across the wider East Midlands - backed by funding from the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA).

The MAA oversaw work within the region, while acting as a link to the national programme and the Manufacturing Advisory Service in the East Midlands.

Tim Holmes manager for the Midlands Aerospace Alliance (MAA), said: "We are delighted that the support of SC21 has been able to assist in the continuing success of The Seat Design Company.

"SC21 aims to ensure the UK's global position in aerospace and defence and that the UK supply chain does not falter in the face of current and future challenges presented by the global and economic climate.

"The Seat Design Company is evidence that SC21 can help to achieve that goal, and by fully embracing SC21, the company has benefitted significantly."