This expansion has been supported by Jumpstart, who has worked with the company to generate more than £100,000 of R&D tax relief over the last three years, all of which has been directed into the development of new alloys for applications.
Explains Copper Alloys technical manager Ivan Richardson: “Current managing director John Dudley started the business in 2000 as a continuous casting firm, but the management team quickly realised they needed to differentiate themselves from rivals.
“They decided to focus on developing their technical knowledge and invested heavily in recruiting experts in metallurgy, casting technicians and machining specialists, giving them the ability to take on extremely complex projects.”
He continued: “Today, we are now seen as a leading manufacturer of copper and nickel based forged and finished machined components and have high profile clients across the world. We are always striving for innovation and trying to push new metal technology to the next level. This has been crucial in delivering the £1 million of new business wins.”
Jumpstart’s John Thomson adds: “On the surface, Copper Alloys operate in a very traditional industry, but it doesn’t take you long to realise how innovative and technologically advanced it is.
“The company undertakes lots of R&D in testing out new processes and new equipment so it was just a case of extracting the information from Ivan and then packaging it in a way that would support its claim. I’m delighted we’ve had such a good result so far and it has been fantastic to see the money ploughed back into helping the company grow to £6 million.”
