Diversification into supplying new areas of retail is paying dividends for Loughborough-based JC Metalworks (www.jcmetalworks.co.uk), which recently announced a 24% increase in sales.

The company, which employs almost 100 people at its Bishop Meadow Road facility, has won a string of new contracts to supply precision metal parts for point of sale (POS) and products being used by High Street brands, restaurants and clients involved in the automotive, retail and Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) sectors.

Backed by support from the Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP), JC Metalworks undertook a strategic business review that identified the need for a programme of up-skilling across the workforce and the implementation of new lean-manufacturing processes.

The result has been a £1 million increase in business and is in line with the company’s plans to achieve a £10 million turnover by 2020 — a £3.3 million increase on its current £6.7 million order book.

Managing director Nick Oakland said: “There are a lot of opportunities in retail POS, and we are now targeting those with very good effect.

“Our flexibility, manufacturing capabilities and ability to get involved in design make us a natural fit, and the recent new contracts underline this.

“If we can hit the £10 million target, we will definitely need more staff; there could be as many as 20 new jobs.”

James Bosworth, manufacturing growth manager at MGP, said: “We are here to help manufacturers unlock their potential by finding out what the issues or barriers to growth are. Once this first step has been completed, external experts are introduced to help them achieve their plans.”

JC Metalworks, which also runs its own apprenticeship programme, has invested over £250,000 in improvements over the last 18 months.

These include new racking, a press brake and the introduction of an IT system that uses barcodes to capture shopfloor information.