Expanding engineering and manufacturing business ready for new chapter in its history

An expanding engineering and manufacturing business in Leamington is undergoing a significant evolution as part of its ambitious growth strategy to double its turnover in the next 12 months.

Tecman Speciality Materials is renowned throughout the UK as a developer and manufacturer of components using adhesive tape in the automotive, medical, and offshore and onshore industries.

The Leamington-based firm has developed Anti-thermal Propagation Technology for EV battery packs that prevent or delay heat transfer between adjacent battery cells from a thermal runaway event, effectively optimising cell performance, longevity, and safety of battery packs.

The 35-strong business, which has recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, is now evolving to create three separate divisions from its base in Berrington Road.

Tecman Innovation will focus on research and design, to drive the development of next-generation advanced materials, solutions, and processes; Tecman Manufacturing will be responsible for delivering exceptional quality, reliability, and consistency across all their products and production processes; and Tecman Automation will be dedicated to Industry 4.0, developing world-leading manufacturing systems designed for highly automated, cost-effective production.

Before this next chapter in its history, Operations Director David Roberts contacted Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub Account Manager, Laura Delahunty, to discuss support to upskill its staff.

She put him in touch with Warwick District Council, Warwickshire County Council and the University of Warwick Science Park’s Business Ready programme for various support.

David said the fast growth the business is benefiting from means they are also looking to move to bigger premises within the Warwickshire area.

He said: “The changes we are making at Tecman are really exciting and I met with Laura from the Growth Hub to discuss the various funding opportunities that were available.

“We are on a rapid growth trajectory with a large portion of our business growth coming from sectors identified by the government as critical to the national industrial strategy, such as the renewable energy sector, which includes wind blade protection and EV batteries. We are also well known within the healthcare and life sciences sectors as a result of our work in diagnostics manufacturing and for producing hundreds of thousands of face shields each year following Covid, for health providers in UK, Norway, Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

“The EV work in particular is really accelerating, and we have secured a significant contract with an OEM in the area which meant we wanted to upskill staff in various areas of the business to help to future-proof our business and meet the demands of the new work that is coming in.

“As part of our strategic workforce development, we initiated our first production apprenticeship with funding support from Warwickshire Skills Hub, enabling the recruitment of machine technician Louie Fitchett. This invaluable support has facilitated the expansion of our apprenticeship programme, and we are now exploring opportunities to introduce apprenticeships across other areas of the business to align with our ongoing organisational evolution.

“We’re still a relatively small business but we want to move from our 23,000 sq ft premises to a 50,000 sq ft facility and the County Council is helping us to identify a suitable location.”

Laura Delahunty, Account Manager at Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub, said she had helped Tecman to access ongoing support as well as providing details of programmes and connections to help with recruitment.

She said: “This is a great example of partnership working in the sub-region because Tecman is on track to scale rapidly, and we have found at the Growth Hub that scaleup businesses require different types of support to other SMEs.

“Tecman is working towards becoming a Tier 1 supplier to OEMs in the UK and internationally with their EV product, and they have found our support to be incredibly useful.”

Cllr Chris King, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Place at Warwick District Council, said: “This is another great example of Warwick District Council playing its part in enabling this small local company to expand and also upskill and develop its current workforce.

“This is not only adding to Tecman’s competitiveness and resilience, but also contributing to improving the skilled job opportunities available in our area. “ 

Councillor Martin Watson, Portfolio Holder for Economy at Warwickshire County Council, added: “Supporting local businesses is a key priority for the county council and it’s great to see the impact the Business Ready programme has by providing tailored support for Warwickshire’s businesses.

“Tecman is a great example of a local business making best use of the support available. The programme has helped them to introduce an apprentice to the team and explore future apprenticeship opportunities, making use of our local future talent, along with support to grow and move to larger facilities.”

Steven Convery, Business Skills Support Officer at Warwickshire Skills Hub said: "The Auto, Future Mobility, and Energy sectors are major employers and drivers of economic activity in the county, and are playing a key role in the UK's green transition.

“Tecman Speciality Materials is a prominent player in this sector, and we have been delighted to support their workforce development initiatives. In addition to general skills training, we have facilitated connections to relevant support programmes and strategic partners.

“It is gratifying to assist organisations such as Tecman Speciality Materials in taking advantage of our programmes, including the Inclusive Fair Chance Programme and various grant opportunities. The Skills Hub is dedicated to providing the necessary skills support to our local businesses, working closely with Economic Development to ensure they have access to all relevant information and contacts."

Ian McFarlane-Toms, Business Ready Programme Manager at UWSP, said: “The Business Ready programme was specifically developed to support high growth and innovation organisations; Tecman is a perfect match. Our business advisors and growth specialists are working with their management team across a number of business areas. 

“I first met with David Roberts and we identified some challenges and set priorities. Based on those conversations I picked the advisers and specialists best suited to support Tecman across a number of initiatives, including marketing, HR and operations.”