The company has been selected to manufacture a production component for aircraft engines that fly millions of miles every year.
Backed by support from the Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP), Arrowsmith Engineering, which employs 60 people at its recently extended factory, expects to double annual sales to £7m by 2020.
Customers have been impressed by the company’s world-class quality and ‘right first time’ performance. It has also been awarded with Silver SC21 award, making it one of a select group of firms across the UK to have achieved this supply chain standard.
“Our client base is the who’s who of the aerospace sector and the only way we get to supply into these type of businesses is by offering precision components and on-time delivery,” said Jason Aldridge, Arrowsmith Engineering MD, who also added that on-time delivery rates were at 98% last year.
“This was a key factor in us winning the new order and will take the business to a whole new level. We’ve had to employ 12 new people to cope with the increased demand, including three interns, two new apprentices, a quality engineer and six machinists.”
Arrowsmith Engineering have been working with MGP since October 2016, first with the SC21 application and then, more recently, with a gap analysis for the new AS9100D aerospace quality standard. MGP have also provided assistance with developing a long-term strategy and making the most of international opportunities.
“As an SME, you can sometimes get weighed down with just meeting daily customer requirements and lose track of what could be the bigger picture,” continued Aldridge. “That’s why having a specialist from MGP, who has time to look at the overall strategy of the business, can be beneficial.”
