Leicestershire-based JJ Churchill — a family-owned precision engineering firm — has secured contracts more than £100 million, increased its head count by 35% and seen its export order book grow from under £1 million to more than £37 million after five years on the Sharing in Growth (SiG) programme.

The company, which has a facility in Market Bosworth, was one of the first aerospace suppliers selected for SiG back in 2013, when it expanded its aerospace export business in response to the oil crisis (www.jjchurchill.com).

Since then, with SiG support, it has redefined its strategy to focus on people, customers and new business development.

It now has plans to add around 20 new jobs by 2020,and it has been able to make a £10 million investment in plant and equipment.

Chairman Andrew Churchill said: “SiG is an excellent example of the Government and engineering working together to make our industry more effective, more efficient and future-proof; this is increasing opportunity, sales and jobs.

"Last year, we signed one of our biggest ever long-term agreements — worth around £70 million — to supply precision-machined blades to Rolls-Royce. I don’t think it gets any better than that.”

SiG has now helped aerospace suppliers across the UK to win contracts worth more than £3.6 billion. This is equivalent to around 30,000 man-years of work or securing almost 7,000 high-value jobs.

The not-for-profit programme is so successful that it is providing a 60:1 return on public investment, with most of the companies on the programme growing at five-times the rate of their industry peers.

Companies interested in how the programme can improve their competitiveness and productivity should register at: www.sig-uk.org/apply.