Baildon-based engineering company Produmax is celebrating winning the national Sharing in Growth Inspire award. The trophy was handed over to directors Jeremy and Mandy Ridyard by Sharing in Growth chairman Dr Bryan Jackson CBE in front of the 75-strong Produmax team and 30 guests, including customers such as Boeing, Moog and SL Engineering, and partners like the AMRC, Bradford council, Keighley College and West Yorkshire LEP.
<Content>The event took place at Prodmax’s newly constructed 15,000 sq m plant, which will be officially opened later this year. The second plant – named Produmax Plus – is part of the family-owned firm’s ambitious growth strategy, which is being supported by Sharing in Growth (SiG). Global specialists in flight control components and assemblies, Produmax exports 80% of its production to USA, Canada, Japan, Morocco, the Philippines and Italy.
Produmax joined SiG in 2014 and last year won the first Sharing in Growth Ikigai top trophy. The judges selected Produmax for the Inspire award this year because the Yorkshire company has put engagement and people development at the centre of the business. With SiG support, Produmax has increased turnover by 55%, increased headcount by 85% to 75 people and secured contracts worth over £50 million.
With help from Sharing in Growth, as well as Bradford City Council and the local LEP, Produmax invested in a new plant at Baildon along with the latest machining technology, and developed the skills of its team. These moves helped to double the return on assets, improve productivity by almost 40% and win three new customers. The company has also set up links with universities, colleges and schools, and created its own apprenticeship programme.
Says Mandy Ridyard, who bought the firm with husband Jeremy in 1997: “Back in 2014 we won a contract from Moog for the Boeing Dreamliner aircraft and, while we had the quality, experience and creativity to deliver, we were struggling for capacity at our plants in Otley and Yeadon. So we turned to Sharing in Growth. Now, our ambition is to get to £50 million turnover by 2025, by continuing to develop our people, our factory and our business.”
Sharing in Growth operations executive Malcolm James adds: “Our role is to work shoulder-to-shoulder with companies to help them compete against overseas competition. We’ve taken more than 60 companies on a multi-year journey to world-class best practice and growth, enabling them to achieve their ambitions. Companies on the Sharing in Growth programme have secured more than £2.5 billion in contracts, so we are well on target to secure 10,000 UK jobs by 2022. The Produmax team may have been one of the smallest companies we selected, but their phenomenal success has proved that our programme can beat the UK’s productivity challenge.”
Handing over the Inspire trophy, SiG chairman Dr Jackson, former managing director of Toyota UK, congratulated the whole Produmax team on the achievement: “When I read reports that GDP is flat-lining, I tell people to visit Produmax to understand how to improve productivity.”
