A specialist provider of point-of-use solutions for industrial manufacturers and the facilities management markets is reaping the rewards of a strategic manufacturing partnership, after seeing its sales increase by 60% in the last year.

Solihull-based Inventor-e, which has created 10 new jobs in the past 12 months, has collaborated with PP Control & Automation to out-source the build of its SmartStores Secure access-controlled cabinet (for product issuing, returning and re-stocking).

A world-class manufacturing cell created at PP’s ‘state of the art’ factory in Cheslyn Hay has increased its capacity to cope with new orders from high-profile clients, such as Babcock International and Rexel.

The move has also been responsible for reducing lead times by 20%, while PP’s design engineers have worked with Inventor-e specialists to explore new configurations to its systems.

Inventor-e sales director Andy Ingram said: “Strategic out-sourcing with PP is allowing us to globally scale our business with a trusted partner, without the significant direct cost of setting up our own manufacturing facilities.

“The relationship has given us a lot of food for thought on future builds, and we have already used PP’s design and engineering expertise to improve our solutions and reduce costs.”

Tony Hague, CEO of PP (www.ppcanda.com), said: “This is an ideal example of how important ‘out-sourcing’ can be for technology disruptors looking to scale up quickly.

“Inventor-e is continually developing new solutions for point-of-use vending, and that’s what it needs to do to stay at the forefront of the market.

"The company wants a manufacturing partner who can not only grow with it but also contribute its own production knowledge to develop solutions that will improve the end service for the customer — something we have a proven track record of doing.”