Trelawny Press Release
A Warwickshire manufacturer, which produces tools and machines to help prepare surfaces for a range of industries across the globe, is expanding into two neighbouring properties to help meet demand.
Trelawny SPT, which is based in Highdown Road, Leamington, is set to exceed £4million turnover this year as it continues to find new markets for its range of surface preparation products around the world.
The company has taken on nine new employees to support its growth and has doubled its work-space by taking on a further two units next door to its HQ.
Trelawny’s latest expansion has received support through the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub, which has introduced the firm to a range of organisations to aid growth. One of those was the Skills4Growth fund which has subsidised the appointment of a graduate.
On top of that, Carolyn Reily, a Growth Hub account manager, has also advised on the availability of grants to help with product innovation and the company is now working on a project to develop another line in its range.
Trelawny SPT commercial director Rob Chapman said the support from the Growth Hub had come at the perfect time.
He said: “We took on the company in 2004 and the turnover was around £1.3 million – we are anticipating it to be well in excess of £4 million this year and we still have very strong prospects for further growth.
“That’s why we needed more space – to make and store the machines we are producing to meet the demand we have from all over the world in everything from construction to the marine sector.
“Around 80 per cent of our business is export and we are going into new countries all the time. We have a strong presence in China through a satellite office and we are very big in the Middle East – Qatar, for example, is a growing market ahead of the World Cup.
“We know how much more business there is out there for us and that is why we are expanding in this way.
“Over the years, we’ve worked extremely hard as a company to grow our markets but have had help along the way. Parminder Hayer at UKTI has assisted us in our export and recently introduced us to the Growth Hub, which – through Carolyn – is lending support in different ways.
“Like most businesses, we are concentrating all of our efforts on meeting our customers’ needs, so to have someone there who knows which grants we can access and who else we can speak to for assistance is a big help.”
The Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub is a new ‘one-stop-shop’ for support and advice for businesses, which was formed by the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership as part of its City Deal bid to Government.
Partners involved include the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, UKTI, Local Authorities across the sub-region, Coventry University, the University of Warwick and MAS.
Craig Humphrey, managing director of the CW Growth Hub, said: “The thinking behind the Growth Hub is to help companies that have the capacity to grow but, for some reason, are coming up against barriers.
“Trelawny has been a great success story for this region for many years but even a well-established company like this has seen the benefit from the support of Carolyn and her colleagues from other partner organisations.
“We are delighted to be able to lend our support in their growth which will, ultimately, benefit the economy in Coventry and Warwickshire.”
Pictured: Carolyn Reilly (Growth Hub), Rob Chapman (Trelawny) and graduate Nathaniel Kaill
Notes to editors
The funding was secured from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund through Lancaster University, who are leading the creation of 15 new growth hubs across the UK.
Lancaster University plays two distinct and innovative roles in the Wave 2 Growth Hub programme – as programme managers and as expert support to programme development. A first for universities in the UK, this programme demonstrates the dynamic role that universities, and especially their business schools, can play in the UK’s Growth Agenda.
Lancaster University, which was named as a top-ten university for SME engagement in the recent Witty Review and has received a Gold Small Business Charter Award, successfully bid to run this Regional Growth Fund programme. This is due to its Management School’s long-standing reputation for innovative support to business, and also because of the university’s experience and expertise in successfully managing European Funding programmes across the UK.
http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/business/business-growth/programmes/wave2
