london's mid-sized manufacturers - London Loves Business

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LONDON’S MID-SIZED MANUFACTURERS

From laser-cutting and plastic moulding to wind turbine sensors and baby ventilators, the capital is bustling with world-class industrial concerns. Here are the 20 firms fuelling the city’s reputation as a manufacturing centre

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Brompton bikes

London’s industrial heart: meet the mid-sized manufacturers Manufacturing is London’s hidden sector. Whilst the press drools over the newest gastropubs and the nation frets over our world-beating prowess in financial services, London’s factories chug away unnoticed. And yet. Dotted all over the city are some of the most exciting manufacturing businesses in the world. There are glass plants, jewellery workshops, laser cutting houses and wind turbine makers. You won’t have heard of many. Brompton Bikes perhaps. A brewer or two, if you are a real ale drinker. The others are known only to clients in their

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Meantime Brewery

sector. They have no interest in publicity, and thrive without it. What is truly remarkable is that London’s manufacturers have kept production local. They continue to make their products on huge plants right here in London, within the M25. This makes them big employers in what are often economically underperforming areas. For example, Kesslers, which makes retail stands and units, employs 250 in one of London’s poorest boroughs, Stratford. And they export. Brompton Bikes sends its foldable cycles to 38 markets overseas. SLE, makers of baby ventilators for

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RazorLab

hospitals, is a global brand. These firms prove that it is possible to make stuff in London. The perceptions that real estate is too expensive here or that business rates are prohibitive are quite clearly wrong. This report aims to give London’s manufacturers some recognition. We have profiled 20 of the most promising manufacturing firms in the capital. We looked for mid-sized firms, with a turnover of under £20m, in a variety of sectors. To identify these firms we talked to the Manufacturing Advisory Service, the EEF and a variety of industry trade bodies. Read the report, and hopefully the next time someone tells you London is all about banking, retail and dotcoms you can ping back a rebuttal: “What about ITH Pharma, and ABS Cases, and Celsur Plastic, and Super Toughened Glass? Have you seen Polybag’s growth rate?” You might just convince them of a long-forgotten truth: London’s manufacturing sector is thriving.

This report is brought to you by LondonlovesBusiness.com, in association with Lloyds TSB Commercial. LondonlovesBusiness.com is the new digital newspaper for established entrepreneurs and executives of London’s mid-market companies. We aim to further the ambitions of London’s businesses, celebrate good business and success, and bring you frank debate about the issues facing London businesses. We are fast becoming the must-read website for London’s business community through our mix of the latest business news across all sectors, profiles of London’s greatest entrepreneurs, features exploring the trends you can capitalise on, and the best of London lifestyle. LondonlovesBusiness.com is published by Casis Media Ltd Casis Media Ltd, 56 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6AE Editor: Sophie Hobson [email protected] Business development director: Jenny Knighting [email protected] 0203 394 1847

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Top 20 manufacturers

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2. SLE

Where: South Croydon What: Baby ventilators Web: sle.co.uk

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BROMPTON BIKES Where: Brentford What: Bicycles Web: brompton.co.uk

It is impossible to talk about London manufacturing without name-checking this superlative Brentford firm. Not only is it commercially successful, with turnover rising to £13m last year, up from £10m, but managing director Will Butler-Adams has been banging on about the advantages of making stuff in London for years. He says the ability to scrutinise quality far outweighs the cost benefits of outsourcing. And has the recession prompted a change of mind? Absolutely not. In fact, Brompton, which exports 70 per cent of the 27,000 bikes it makes each year, is booming. “2012 is proving to be another excellent year for Brompton,” reports marketing director Emerson Roberts. “Our new H Type model has been very well received, particularly in our northern European markets where there is a demand for a more upright position for taller riders. This summer promises more excitement. In recognition of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Brompton is releasing a limited edition model in patriotic red, white and blue, complete with custom components and luggage sporting a Union-flag Tweed. Our trade customers here and abroad snapped up all 500 within 24 hours, repeating the pattern set earlier this year with the London Brompton, our first limited edition model.” The sporting theme is going up a gear too, with the 7th Brompton World Championships being held at Blenheim Palace in August. Golden days for one of the capital’s, nay the nation’s, most exciting firms.

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Babies born as early as 24 weeks enjoy a hugely increased chance of survival these days thanks to the medical kit made by South Croydon-based SLE. The firm has been making specialist medical equipment since 1956, and is now a world leader in designing and manufacturing infant and neonatal ventilators. SLE’s ventilators and oxygen mixers are used in hospitals and universities across the UK, and over the past few years the firm has cracked multiple export markets too. “Sales growth in the UK has been a little flat lately,” says SLE’s marketing manager Chris Worrell, “but we are finding growth in other areas of the world such as India, China and the Far East.” The full roll call of SLE’s export markets runs to 70 nations, including Kazakhstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Mexico. By looking abroad SLE has kept demand high, leading to yet another round of expansion. Headcount has jumped from 70 staff to 90, and the assembly plant is expanding again. Worrell says the technical nature of SLE’s products means outsourcing assembly would be unwise. “Testing alone is very sophisticated and time consuming. It needs to be done properly, using the resources and skills we have at home.” The future? “We want to develop new products to existing markets and take existing products to new markets,” says Worrell.

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ABS CASES

Where: Canning Town What: Industrial boxes Web: abscases.co.uk For more than two decades ABS Cases has made custom-built boxes, trunks and cases. Their sturdy metal-edged products are ideal for transporting sensitive equipment, and are hugely popular in the entertainment industry for transporting everything from drums to lighting gear. “Business is up on last year,” reports co-director Alan Smith. “We have clients who are working on the Olympics, so that is helping. And we expect to do well out of the Queen’s Jubilee too.” The high-tech factory hosts the latest CNC and computer-aided machines capable of working to tolerances of a 100th of a millimetre, employing 11 staff. The location is Canning Town – “Ideal for the M25, Blackwall Tunnel and City Centre,” says Smith. He says the order book is full now, but he’s prepared for future lulls. “We can get nothing for weeks. Then orders come in and we are flat out. That’s the nature of the business.”

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RAZORLAB Where: East Dulwich What: Laser cutting Web: razorlab.co.uk

RazorLab offers the astonishing precision of machine-guided laser-cutting to the general public. Simply upload your designs, created in Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw, via the web, and RazorLab cuts the acrylic, card or MDF to your specifications. Clients include Apple, O2, Hussein Chalayan, Giles Deacon, Selfridges and many of London’s creative businesses. There is also a “tattooing” service – using lasers to engrave plastic and metal with designs. It’s the ultimate way to personalise your MacBook Air. RazorLab’s founder Soner Ozenc has big plans for his lasers. Originally from Turkey, Ozenc came to the UK to study industrial design at Central Saint Martins, and he believes that this manufacturing-as-a-service model will be a hit with the public. “I have an idea for a Makers’ Café in Central London. It will be a place where you can socialise, laser cut and train.” 3D printing is also likely to feature. “Concepts like ours depend on getting the right funding,” he says. “That is why we need to be in London.”

5.CELSUR PLASTICS Where: Staines What: Ring binders Web: celsur.co.uk

The cliché is that you need to be high tech to compete in manufacturing in London. Celsur Plastics is an example of a low tech, high volume business. “The government thinks everyone needs a degree,” says works manager Paul Battie, “But most of the jobs were are low skill,

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so we tend to hire school leavers who want to learn a trade.” And they learn more on the job too, suggests Battie. “Everyone thinks the London riots were started by the under-educated. In fact, if you recall, they were started by students.” Based in Staines, Celsur Plastics employs 100 at its 30,000 square foot plant, and specialises in simple plastic products, such as ring binders, report covers, magazine binders and DVD

holders. Turnover is £6.3m. There is an in-house design team, ensuring that anyone with an idea or product concept can see it turned into a marketable product. The firm is a superb example of a highly-focused niche manufacturer which can provide large scale employment to local youths who want to earn a wage aged 18. With university tuition fees soaring, a career at Celsur Plastics is a very attractive alternative.

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MEANTIME BREWERY Where: Greenwich What: Craft ales Web: meantimebrewing.com

Beer is booming. London is dotted with up-and-coming new brands. There’s Twickenham Fine Ales, the Camden Brewery, the Florence Brewery in Herne Hill, Paddy Johnson’s Windsor & Eton, the Botanist Brewery in Kew and twenty others besides. But the mightiest newcomer is Meantime Brewery of Greenwich. The chief executive Nick Miller used to be the boss of SAB Miller in the UK & Ireland. He jumped ship to join Meantime in July last year, lured by the extraordinary vision that founder Alastair Hook has for the firm. The latest news at Meantime is the opening of London’s biggest new brewery since 1936. The new facility quadruples Meantime’s capacity to 1.5 million pints a month. The operation is so impressive it has its own visitor centre. The mission at Meantime is to develop new styles of beer, whilst promoting genuine quality. “We send out beer sommeliers to bars to educate the staff,” says Miller. Meantime cold filters, rather than pasteurises, beer, to retain the flavour, and stores for 40 days rather than the perfunctory 5 days used by ordinary breweries. There is a touch of the Heston Blumenthal about the approach to ingredients and flavour. “We want to experiment and see what is possible,” says Miller. The new plant can brew 28 styles – enough to keep Miller, Hook and the customers entertained for years.

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POLYBAGS Where: Greenford What: Plastics Web: polybags.co.uk

Whether you want industrial quantities of bubble wrap, clear polythene bags, large sacks or colourful plastic bags with your company’s brand printed on them, Polybags is your one-stop shop. The Greenford-based firm even supplies Her Majesty the Queen with her plastic goods needs, and holds a royal warrant to prove it. Sales are strong. “Ignore what it says on our website,” says boss Jon Lomax, “Our turnover has gone up again since we wrote that, to £10.5m.” The secret? “We are selling a lot through the internet. We have developed that as a channel. And we have invested a lot in technology.” A new bag-making machine costing £100,000 was the last major acquisition. “A lot of manufacturers lie on their backs like dead ants. The fact is that you need to continually invest and upgrade to stay competitive.” The 36,000 square foot plant runs 24-hours a day, five and a half days a week to meet demand. “What’s the five year masterplan?” says Lomax. “To grow, to invest, and we will keep diversifying.”

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PELICANS Where: Stanmore What: Luxury leather goods Web: pelicans.co.uk

The UK is now exporting more cars than it imports for the first time since 1975, which is great news for Pelicans. The Stanmore-based firm is Europe’s largest supplier of leather materials for the automotive and luxury sectors, employing 700 people in London, New York and Mumbai. The London manufacturing centre is an impressive 40,000 square feet, with capacity for 2,000 leather products a day. Pelicans is able to produce just about any leather product desired by clients, but the big orders come from the automotive sector. It would be quicker to list car markers who aren’t Pelicans’ clients, bearing in mind the long list of top-end marques who rely on Pelicans to provide a touch of class (think: Aston Martin, Range Rover, BMW, Bentley, Harley Davidson and Mercedes). Pelicans has been working hard to cement its credentials as the partner of choice for luxury brands. It has made leather boxes for Tom Ford and leather wallets and has an extraordinary list of clients for its stationery sets, including Coutts, the Dorchester, Hilton, Fairmont and Swissotel Worldwide, making everything from credit card wallets and cheque book holders to conference folders and presentation boxes.

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ESSEX ENGINEERING Where: Wanstead What: Coin slide mechanisms Web: essexengineering.co.uk

Play pool in a pub and you’ll have used a coin slide mechanism. And where are these units made? China? India? Actually, the world’s leading maker is a small family-owned firm in Wanstead. Essex Engineering has been cranking out coin slide mechanisms since the 1950s. It’s a curious business, remarkably unchanged since those days. Managing director Ken Allen has worked in the family firm for 52 years. His son Max works on the shop floor. Average length of employment is 14 years. Even the mechanisms have a long life-span - they don’t need electricity to run, and are built to last decades. “We have modernised,” admits Allen. “Where we used to have 20 women making a component, now we have a computer controlled machine doing the job. At our peak we had 50 staff, now we have 25.” The destination for the products has changed too over the years. “Around 70 per cent of our products are for export,” says managing director Ken Allen. “There is a firm in the US which also make them, but they don’t bother with the UK anymore as we are so much cheaper.”

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KESSLERS Where: Stratford What: PoS Display Units Web: kesslers.com

Kesslers is one of London’s most admired manufacturers. It designs and produces point-of-sale displays in its purpose built 130,000 square foot plant in Stratford, a stone’s throw away from the Olympic Village, employing more than 250 people. The directors, brothers Charles and George Kessler, are grandees of the London manufacturing scene. I asked Charles, who runs the sales side of the business, why the firm still manufactures in London. “Why not!” he cries. “We have a tremendous amount of expertise here, making technically sophisticated products. We are very close to our clients, geographically as well as emotionally. We have very loyal staff and customers. You can’t just pick up all that and move it.” George, who runs the operational side of Kesslers, says the only real problem is recruitment – the firm is constantly expanding and needs to hire staff with niche technical skills. The solution? Apprenticeships. “We have been runner up in the Best Apprentice Employer three times,” says George. “We are bloody good at it.” He says the scheme has helped young Londoners learn technical skills, and the more experienced workers have benefited by mentoring the apprentices. London 2012 is helping too. “We were on the edge of the Western world,” recalls Charles. “Now we have the Olympic stadium and Westfield shopping centre. You step out the door onto the latest of everything.” As he said: why on earth would they want to be anywhere else?

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ITH PHARMA Where: Park Royal What: Pharmaceuticals Web: ithpharma.com

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TATTY DEVINE Where: Hackney What: Jewellery Web: tattydevine.com

Jewellery is one of the most important sectors in London. Over the past two decades Hatton Garden has risen to become one of the most important gem centres in Europe, and there has been a commensurate rise in artisanal brands. Tatty Devine is one of the most ambitious of these brave new firms. Founded by Rosie Wolfenden and Harriet Vine in 1999, the firm designs and makes everything in-house, employing 27 staff. The pieces are quirky perspex earrings, brooches, bangles and cuff-links. The pair are vocal about their support for making jewellery in London. Wolfenden says, “We don’t outsource abroad as one of our main values is manufacturing in Britain. We’re passionate about supporting the British economy and also representing good quality original design. We started manufacturing in Britain because we didn’t have the money or sales volume to get items made abroad in factories, so we developed our own manufacturing system and techniques, which in turn has informed our aesthetic.” They believe that with a bit of political support, manufacturing would have a bright future in the capital. “It is tragic that industrial spaces are disappearing at such a rate, for example Hackney Wick, and also the fact that commercial spaces are constantly being made residential through change of use, which the councils need to discourage.”

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Entrepreneurs often hate being employees. When pharmaceutical firm Intra-Tech Healthcare got bought by Mayne Pharma in 2005 the founders quickly started to get itchy feet. They left and in 2008 set up a clone of Intra-Tech called ITH Pharma. “We took on a new warehouse in Park Royal” recalls co-founder and commercial director Andrew Winstanley. “It was 15,000 square feet. We put in a mezzanine floor and doubled the space.” It was quite a conversion. As an aseptic compounding, firm, ITH Pharma provides bespoke medicines to hospitals and needs Grade A clean rooms, which aren’t cheap or easy to create; the new facility has six. But it was money well spent. Since opening the doors for business in 2009 ITH Pharma has grown at an impressive rate. “We now have 92 staff,” says Winstanley, “and most of the hospitals in London are clients.” The demand is now so high that the firm has started to spill out into its neighbours on the industrial estate, renting parts of their warehouses for storage space. The firm also has a dark horse product, developed over seven years by co-director Adam Bloom, called Doselock. The device fits around a syringe, limiting the amount of fluid it can dispense to the nearest millimetre. The innovation means hospitals can cut down on the number of syringe sizes they stock. “Interest has trebled this year as hospitals realise it can contribute to the cost savings they need to make,” says Winstanley. Could be a big earner.

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DESIGN & DISPLAY STRUCTURES Where: Woolwich What: Fibreglass Web: design-and-display.co.uk

In its heyday Woolwich was one of the workshops of the world, home to the naval dockyard which produced Henry VIII’s flagship, the Henri Grâce à Dieu, the biggest ship of its day. Today you’ll still find a plethora of manufacturers. On the South point of the Thames Barrier is Design & Display Structures, makers of intricate fibreglass structures for the construction industry. Examples of their work include the 16 metre dome of Barton Square Trafford Centre, the ticket booths and Duplo blocks at Legoland and the huge conference pod at the Queen Mary School of Dentistry. Allan Curtis, managing director of the company since 2003, says it’s the perfect place to be located. “We have clients all over the UK, so we need easy access to the M25, and since we have lots of international contracts too, we need to have the airports close by.” The factory floor is 4,000 square foot, fizzing with talented laminators and designers. The plant is capable of taking on jobs of pretty much any size and complexity. “As the work comes in we take on extra labour as we need,” says Curtis. He says his team are currently working on a prestigious job (“confidential, though”). He can name one recent client: PDQ Exhibitions. “We designed, manufactured and installed their Google Android feature at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona two years running. International work like this means we can continue to grow the business no matter what happens to the UK economy.”

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ROBERTS METAL PACKAGING Where: Thamesmead What: Metal lids and containers Web: roberts-metpack.co.uk

It was another queen’s jubilee when the Roberts Capsule Stopper Company opened its doors in 1887. As Queen Victoria celebrated her 50th year on the throne, Roberts made cork stoppers. The firm soon added metal decorative tops, and today Roberts has morphed into a metal packaging firm, selling aluminium jars, bottles, lids and screw tops to FMCG clients. The international outlook of the firm remains positively Victorian. “About half our output is for export,” boasts managing director Chris Saunders. “That is extremely unusual for a packaging firm.” Saunders is currently preparing to dash off to Paris to meet his French agents. “We have exhibitions in Brazil and Russia coming up too,” he says. The network of distributors stretches across Europe, the US and beyond. The firm employs 75 staff at its 30,000 square foot plant in Thamesmead. The plant was purpose built in 2007, a time when the firm might have considered moving out of London. “It would have been suicidal to move away,” says Saunders. “Our business is our people, we can’t just leave them behind.” One caveat though: “From a rent and rates point of view it might have made sense to leave London. The rates in London are horrendous.” The problem is acute enough for him to have written to his MP to complain. “He never replied.” The future? “Our plan is to grow the business by 50 per cent of the next four to five years,” says Saunders.

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HARTON SERVICES Where: Abbey Wood What: Plumbing units Web: hartons.co.uk

Founded in 1947 Harton Services continues to make prefabricated plumbing, heating and water equipment for the construction industry from its small plant in Abbey Wood. It’s a product suite which only industry specialists would ever be aware of. “We don’t do any advertising,” says the rather modest managing director Bob Newall. “Our clients are the main contractors who know who we are.” The 13 staff design and assemble the units - a model which shows no sign of going out of date. “All our labour force is local,” says Newall. “It means we can retain them long term. If we moved, say to the Far East, I would only have to attract a new workforce.” To keep the firm at the cutting edge, new products are developed – a new suite has just been unveiled. “Trade is going very well, very busy,” reports Newall. Good news in a sector which is currently suffering in the recession.

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PLASTICO Where: Mitcham What: Plastic cutlery Web: plastico.co.uk

“People are shocked when we say we manufacture in London. They definitely don’t expect it.” Plastico has been making plastic cutlery in Mitcham since 1947, and with 89 employees and more than £12m in annual sales, it has no plans to move anywhere. And why would it? Commercial director Jonathan Mortimore reports that business is strong: “Some bigger players have gone out of business, so the ones that are left get more bullish.” He reveals the firm has big plans to grow exports, “currently 15 per cent of sales”, and new product lines to diversify into. Being in Mitcham does present challenges though. Like finding workers. “We struggle to get people interested in working for us. You’d think at a time of high unemployment young people would bite your hand off. Sad state of affairs.” It is not as if the only jobs are for PhDs; like most manufacturers, there is a mix between high-tech and low-tech work available. “Even with high level of automation, we still need people to seal boxes and drive fork lift trucks.” The firm is a family business. Founded by David Green, his daughter Eileen Wiggins joined the firm and is now chairman, and her daughter Caroline is now the CEO. The long-term plan for Plastico? “We want to be a £20m turnover firm in five years,” says Mortimore. And they can’t find young workers? Crazy.

17. SUPER TOUGHENED GLASS Where: Park Royal What: Glass Web: supertuff.co.uk

Super Toughened Glass is one of the best known names in the construction industry, supplying shatter proof, fire resistant and self-cleaning glass for major building projects. It’s a family firm, owned by the Meghani and Hirani

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families, and employs 145 staff at its 7,000 square meter plant in Park Royal, NW10. “We used to employ more than 230,” says Devji Meghani, “but the recession has been very hard. Business is quiet this year. It was quiet last year. We don’t think it will improve until the banks start financing construction projects, and that will take intervention

by the government.” Super Toughened Glass doesn’t export, so is reliant on the fortunes of the domestic construction industry. But even in these difficult times it is still making a net profit of more than £500,000 on a turnover of £10.7m. “We are surviving okay,” says Meghani. “But we believe only the government can bring back the glory days.”

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STANHOPESETA

Where: Chertsey What: Precision instruments for the oil industry Web: stanhope-seta.co.uk If the future of British manufacturing is driven by high-tech, then Stanhope-Seta’s future should be very, very bright. The family-owned Chertsey firm makes flashpoint testers, oil test centrifuges and vapour pressure testers for the oil industry. It employs 70 people, who research, design and build all the machinery on-site. The firm’s performance proves its R&D intensive ethos is paying off. Over the past three years Stanhope-Seta has grown sales by 100 per cent as its instruments have gained a global name for being the best. Exports now account for 85 per cent of sales, with Russia, China and India being the big growth markets. In April the firm won a Queen’s Award for Export. Managing director Giles Verity says London has some big pluses, including a cluster of specialized suppliers, such as circuit board makers. But there are difficulties too. “Cost is a key factor and a definite negative when considering a manufacturing plant in the area... Premises and cost of living are key factors in driving up the cost base. Access to business development grants is also far more challenging and within London and the South East in the past they have just not been available.

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GLASS DESIGN Where: Greenwich What: Glass Web: glass-design.net

Glass Design is a third generation glass company based in Greenwich which, since 1947, has been processing glass for every conceivable purpose, from safety, structural and fire-rated glass, to screens, partitions, table tops and stairs. In 2004 it moved into a new plant, and currently employs more than 50 people, 30 of whom work on the factory floor. Managing director Vince McDonnell says trade volumes are “average” this year. “We have two sides to the business. The supply-only side, which supplies to trade. And an install business. The supply-only side is up by 20 per cent this year. The supply and install is down 20 per cent. The reason is that a lot of our business is to retailers, high street shops and shopping centres. That has completely stopped. So we’ve changed tack and are now targeting high-end property developments.” Being in London means this strategy can be executed more quickly. “In London we are close to the architects and designers who we need to chase, to visit and to deliver samples to.” The Olympics has helped, a little. “We haven’t had any work directly from the Olympics, but we have picked up work from firms which are preparing for the Olympics.” Westfield Stratford City too has proved a boon.

20. FT TECHNOLOGIES Where: Teddington What: Wind turbine sensors Web: fttech.co.uk

This summer the Science Museum is hosting the Make It In Britain exhibition, which will showcase the best manufacturing firms in the country. One of the exhibitors selected is FT Technologies, which makes sensors for wind turbines at the firm’s plant in Teddington. The sensors are designed to detect wind speed and direction and are

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used in large scale wind farm turbines. The firm is also known for its leading edge work on acoustic modelling, transducer design, wind tunnel design and reliability testing. Around 95 per cent of FT Technologies products are exported, mainly to China, Europe and North America, and 12 out of the top 15 wind manufacturers in the world use their sensors. The firm was founded in 1981 by Peter Elgar and Derek Cavendish-Pell, and employs 40 staff. It has picked up a

string of awards for both business performance and for its patented technology, including a Queens’ Award for Export in both the innovation and international trade categories, and been shortlisted for the MacRobert Award, the top prize awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering for product innovation. Other manufacturers at the Science Museum exhibition include McLaren F1, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems – testimony to the esteem in which FT Technologies is held.