Swift & Whitmore, which supplies over 200 different abrasive products to customers in aerospace, automotive, oil and gas and heavy engineering, has tapped into support from Business Growth West Midlands (BGWM) in Dudley to help it target £8m sales and decarbonise its operations.
The company has just completed installing energy efficiency lighting throughout its Halesowen HQ due to financial support from Dudley Council’s DNZ programme. Additionally, the local authority has also issued a near £7,500 productivity grant to assist with upgrading its stores and logistics department.
This funding, part of a larger £50,000 investment drive, has been spent on the purchase of a Greenpower Eco electric forklift truck that has a far longer range and is easier to charge.
“BGWM in Dudley has been a fantastic source of advice, guidance and financial support and has put us in a strong position to defy economic uncertainty and increase sales in 2025,” commented Janette Tierney, Managing Director of Swift & Whitmore.
“The installation of the new lighting and a forklift truck will help us become more sustainable in our processes and, importantly, will also deliver cost savings in the long-term. We’re now planning to take another person on in logistics, which will take our total workforce in the Black Country and our Chesterfield manufacturing operation to 50.”
More from Machinery
Swift & Whitmore’s industrial reach spans a wide array of industries and products, with its grinders, hot pressed wheels, diamond grinding wheels and coated abrasives used by customers in the UK and across the globe.
As well as being the only domestic manufacturer of resin bonded grinding wheels, the firm is also an independent supplier of other world leading brands, meaning it can turn orders around within a matter of weeks.
“The support from Business Growth West Midlands in Dudley started with an energy audit by specialists Pro Enviro and this identified several areas where we could reduce our energy consumption whilst also improving our operations in Halesowen,” Tierney added.
“We then worked with Business Growth Adviser Steve Dunn on how we make some of these happen and he talked us through the grants available and what we needed to do to get them. This would have been a fairly difficult process, but he made it so easy, helping with cashflow forecasts and our carbon calculations.”
Business Growth West Midlands in Dudley, which is funded by Dudley Council via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, is supporting more than 600 companies based in the borough with advice from local business growth advisers.
Run by Oxford Innovation Advice, the initiative delivers an information, diagnostic, brokerage, and account management service to support local businesses to thrive, innovate, and grow, whilst also supporting entrepreneurs to progress their business ideas. A special focus is placed on helping firms in key local sectors and engaging with harder to reach groups, such as women-led and ethnic minority-led businesses.
