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CONNECTThe complete engineering and manufacturing solution : Quarterly newsletter

ISSUE 01April 2016

Dragon’s Den’s

GripIT gets MAN backing

Two Midlands manufacturers are helping one of the most successful investments from Dragons’ Den become a global success story.

Brandauer and Muller England, both members of the Midlands Assembly Network (MAN), are using their expertise in precision pressings and escomatic parts to produce critical components for DIY innovation ‘GripIt’.

The heavy duty plasterboard fixing utilises a three-way gripping system that includes universal collar, anti-rotational lugs and unique backing wings to offer a heavy-duty solution to a problem that has plagued builders and home improvement enthusiasts for years.

Demand for the product – designed by young entrepreneur Jordan Daykin and his Grandad Stan – has been phenomenal, with

GRIPIT FIXINGS KIMBER MILLS JOINS £1M CONTRACT HAUL PROFILED: SMT DEVELOPMENTS

major UK retailers B&Q, Screwfix and Wickes all stocking it on their shelves and orders coming in from Europe, the US and Australia.

“They were in the market for a manufacturer of grooved pins and our material supplier recommended us,” explained Paul Bethell, Managing Director of Muller England.

“We have more than 90 years experience in this field and were able to understand the design and how this discipline of manufacturing could be used to produce the groove shafts that turn the backing wings.

“The key was to come up with a high volume production process that could deliver repeatable quality and precision, something we have achieved by investing £25,000 into new attachments on to the existing escomatic machines.”

He continued: “We’ll produce about £250,000

of components this year and – with volumes anticipated to double in 2017 – this project will be responsible for safeguarding and creating more than 10 jobs.”

Muller England is one company in a nine-strong manufacturing collective called the Midlands Assembly Network, which works together to retain and bring new contracts back to the UK.

As part of the Shropshire company’s role in the group, it was able to introduce GripIt to precision pressworker Brandauer to help with the development and supply of clips and wings, critical to the fixing process on the plasterboard.

Rowan Crozier, Managing Director of the Birmingham-based firm, commented:

> L-R: ROWAN CROZIER (BRANDAUER), MAC BIVENS (GRIPIT FIXINGS) & PAUL BETHELL (MULLER ENGLAND)

/////////////////////////////////Demand for the product has been phenomenal, with major UK retailers B&Q, Screwfix and Wickes all stocking it on their shelves and orders coming in form Europe, the US and Australia

www.man-group.co.uk +44 (0)845 034 6676

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> CONTINUED ON PAGE 2.

“As new members of the Midlands Assembly Network, we are extremely excited by the complete engineering and manufacturing solutions we can now offer our customers. MAN is a group of world-leading manufacturers working together in a formal collaboration and offering a diverse range of engineering processes… it is a pleasure to be able to include forging to the growing list of capabilities.”

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t +44 (0)121 359 2822e [email protected] brandauer.co.uk

Issue 01 April 2016


//////////////////////////////////////////KIMBER MILLS

KimberMills International is a forging, machining, fabrication, assembly and presswork company, with production facilities across the UK, Poland and India.

It has the capability to produce a wide range of products in both high and low volume and its expertise spans numerous industries including agriculture, automotive, mining, oil and gas and petrochemical.

GripIT story continued New MAN member“This is a fantastic example of how MAN works and even better when we are helping a UK innovation go global.

“Muller were made aware of an issue in the production process and, understanding our capabilities, knew we could provide a solution and brokered an introduction.”

He went on to add: “Our sales and technical team moved the project forward and we have been supplying about £20k of metal components per month…a figure we expect to double over the next year.

“The contract has also given us the opportunity to challenge Tom Flight (one of our apprentices) to complete a project to design and manufacture a bespoke material waste management control unit for use in the stamping process.”

GripIt’s growth was featured on BBC 1’s ‘From Pitches to Riches’ programme recently, highlighting how the company has grown to £12m and is poised for even further global expansion.

The business has recently launched a Crowdcube campaign in order to raise £1.5m to fund its rapid international expansion within the global DIY market.

Deborah Meaden, who initially invested £80,000 in August 2015, has since provided a further £900,000 to fund growth but keen to get the wider public involved, Daykin has taken the decision to raise additional, vital working capital through crowdfunding.

This will be used to obtain the industrial machinery required to keep up with international demand and, in particular, large orders from the US and Australia.

Jordan Daykin, Managing Director, concluded: “This is an invention born in Wiltshire and I’m delighted we’ve been able

to work with two UK manufacturers to help bring the product to market.

“Volumes are increasing all the time and we’re getting interest in GripIt from all over the globe…the world really is our oyster.”

The Midlands Assembly Network is made up of Alucast, Barkley Plastics, Brandauer, Grove Design, KimberMills International, Mec Com, Muller Holdings, PP Electrical Systems, SMT Developments and associate partner Warwick Manufacturing Group.

The collective, which boasts annual sales of £70m and employs in excess of 750 people, offers access to a full outsourcing solution, from initial design and prototyping to supply chain management and low/medium/high volume production.

> THE WORLD’S ULTIMATE PLASTERBOARD FIXING

> HIGH QUALITY FORGINGS AND FINISHED MACHINED PARTS

> GEOFF TURNBULL, MD OF KIMBER MILLS INTERNATIONAL

CONTACTRowan Crozier (CEO)

t +44 (0)129 927 2102e [email protected] muller-england.co.uk

CONTACTPaul Bethell (MD)

CONTACTGeoff Turnbull (MD)

t +44 (0)247 655 5559 e [email protected] kimbermills.co.uk

@GraysonTS@cbrandauer

@GraysonTS@mullerengland

@GraysonTS@kimbermills_int

@GraysonTS@man_group_

SMT DEVELOPMENTSAs one of the UK’s leading electronics manufacturers and specialists in PCB and electronic assembly, you can rely on SMT’s knowledge and expertise to provide you with the highest quality assemblies, exactly when you need them.

The company offers flexible manufacturing schedules and fast turnaround so you can reduce your stock levels and get your products to market faster than your competitors.

KEY SERVICESSMT offers the complete range of PCB prototype and assembly services, taking care of your project from design through to final delivery in small, medium or high volume batches.

QUALITYSMT is committed to manufacturing excellence, to continued investment in cutting-edge technology and to the ongoing development of its highly skilled workforce. Business is always carried out responsibly and quality is underpinned by a wide range of industry accreditations, including ISO 9001:2000, SC21 and IPC.

THE SET UPSMT is a family business and this is reflected in the 110% commitment and personal service you would expect from such a close-knit company.

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PR FILECOMPANY

Issue 01 April 2016


> PCB AND ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY

> FAMILY BUSINESS: JOHN AND PHIL ROWLEY

Barkley Plastics rides on the crest of the automotive wave with £1m contract haul

Many skills, benefit many sectors

A Birmingham plastic injection moulding specialist is benefitting from the UK automotive boom after landing more than £1m of new contracts. Barkley Plastics has announced new work including interior parts and light guides for several major automotive OEMs and a rapidly expanding supercar manufacturer. It comes after a hugely successful twelve months that has seen the firm take on 15 new staff, exceed sales targets and invest more than £500,000 on a new EDM machine, a 650 tonne injection mould press, a 420 tonne press and new cranes in preparation for handling bigger tools. This has given it the capacity to produce larger components and to manufacture more than 50 million mouldings every year for automotive clients and customers involved in construction, electronics, medical and retail.

STRENGTH IN OUR NUMBERSMAN offers the full range of electronic, electrical and mechanical engineering processes, from aluminium casting, design and injection moulding to fabrication, forging and precision presswork. Working together, the unique collective supplies over 250 clients across 25 different sectors and 30 countries.

“We have always been a trusted supplier to the tier 1s and car makers and that is what the business has been built on…having said that, the last eighteen months has been some of our most successful in this arena,” explained Matt Harwood, Business Development Manager at Barkley Plastics. “Investment in the domestic auto sector has gone through the roof and we have certainly benefitted from being located close to a number of major plants. There is also a willingness to buy parts from the UK, with many of the orders we’ve secured won back from overseas.”

> L-R: PETER TEDD, MATT HARWOOD AND MARK HARWOOD

Aerospace Automotive Renewables Food Processing Packaging

Security Electronics Medical Military Energy

//////////////////Member companies in the MAN Group invest more than £4m every year on new technology, best practice manufacturing processes and the skills of its workforce.

If you are looking for a complete manufacturing solution that delivers security of supply, reduced costs and innovative solutions to complex production issues then MAN could be the answer… a 10-year track record with some of the world’s largest industrial names is testimony to that.

CONTACTMatt Harwood (MD)

t +44 (0)121 440 1303 e [email protected] barkley.uk

CONTACTJohn Rowley MBA (MD)

t +44 (0)1926 453 050e [email protected] smtdevelopments.co.uk


















Security Electronics Medical Military Energy@GraysonTS@smtdevelopments

@GraysonTS@barkleyplastics

@GraysonTS@man_group_

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