Records for Renishaw

For the year ended 30 June, revenue was up 11% to £201.2m (2007 £180.9m) while pre-tax profit increased by 28% to £41.7m (2007 £32.7m). During the year, the company said it had completed the introduction in both the UK and India of its new manufacturing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which would give rise to improved manufacturing efficiencies, from the ordering of goods from suppliers to the production of finished products. In addition, a group-wide initiative to review and implement changes to inventory management policies was established. This had resulted in group inventory being reduced by £2m at 17% of sales (2007 20%), despite the increase in turnover; at the same time the level of finished stock increased by 12%, maintaining and improving its ability to respond to customer demands, Renishaw said. The effects of this initiative should continue to be evident in the current financial year. In India, the production facility in Pune is to be further enlarged, building on its improvement in quality control, cost reduction and increasing volumes. A number of new products had been introduced during the year including two new high-accuracy strain gauge touch trigger probes for machine tool applications; a contact sensing probe for articulating arm measuring machines; software and devices for neurosurgical procedures; new CAD software for the design of dental crowns and bridges; new interfaces for laser scales and encoders; a new range of angle and linear encoders; a new low-cost servo controller and handset for CMMs; and a thermally controlled module rack for scanning probes.