Liftoff equips aerospace firm to double turnover

Lestercast is benefiting from the MAS East Midlands LiftOff scheme, which helps regional aerospace-related companies. The subsidised programme enabled the firm to source Synchro 32 foundry production software that will allow it to attract more profitable customers and markets. The firm manufactures metal investment castings for a range of applications – everything from braking systems for Dunlop Aerospace and components for Smiths Aerospace, to the B marque for the new Bentley Azure Convertible and lock parts for Rockwell. Managing director Chris Batty says: “LiftOff has helped us fund the specialist IT support we needed to take our company to the next level. Without it, development costs would have been prohibitive. It’s too early to put an exact figure on how much our increased efficiency has saved us, but more importantly this new technology will help us to attract lucrative new customers and expand our markets.” And he adds: “We already have the orders building that will push our turnover to £8m next year, and are about to add another three employees to our current workforce of 34 to help manage our expansion.” The software, supplied by R&D Concepts in Gwynedd, enables technical and customer data relating to a production batch to be automatically updated as a casting travels through the manufacturing process. Barcodes also enable photographic images to be pulled off during the manufacturing process and automatically displayed on large wall mounted monitors, so that operators can quickly identify batches and determine the next production stage. It also provides an automatic link from production to the company’s finance department and has helped Lestercast develop a much more sophisticated method of trading online.