Warwickshire-based Technoset (www.techno-group.co.uk), a precision manufacturing specialist, is celebrating 40 years in business by completing a £700,000 investment drive.

The company, which employs 25 people at its facility in Rugby, has installed four new lathes and a ‘state of the art’ laser scanning device to support the machining and measurement of complex components for customers involved in the aerospace, medical and fibre-optics markets.

Supported by the Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP), the company has also secured AS9100 Rev D, a quality accreditation that is fast becoming a prerequisite for winning contracts in the aerospace sector.

Technoset’s managing director, Kevan Kane, said: “The business started life completing high-volume low-value work, but we are now recognised as a manufacturer of complex and specialist parts, designed to be used in demanding environments.

“This has only been achieved by continually investing in our capabilities, the technology we use and attracting the best talent. The latest £700,000 investment gives us the platform to take on more longer-term agreements and add to the current £2.2 million turnover.

“Critical to our future growth was securing the AS9100 Rev D quality award — a very demanding and stringent process, with Rev D containing a stronger focus on risk management.

“This is a very time-consuming exercise for an SME, so we turned to the MGP, which gave us a continuous improvement plan and then part-funded a specialist consultant to work with us on refining our operations and developing new strategies.

“The support was invaluable, ensuring that senior managers could focus on what we do best — producing complex components for our global customer base.”