Midlands-based Sarginsons Industries, a lightweighting casting specialist, has signed up to a programme to enhance its growth potential even further – and has received funding support to help it with the drive.

The company has joined the National Manufacturing Competitive Levels (NMCL) Automotive Programme and has received funding of £268,000 as part of a wider £536,000 investment to complete the programme by March 2022. It comes as part of a wider drive from Sarginsons to grow and enhance what it can offer to clients.

NMCL Automotive was established by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) to help boost the competitiveness of the UK manufacturing supply chain and is supported by other major trade bodies and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Sarginsons’ project will begin in August and will engage all employees across four work streams, which include setting the business direction and developing the capability to deliver the strategy, and developing operational capability to achieve quality and delivery expectations.

That should lead to Sarginsons being able to win and deliver more profitable contracts and build a capable and collaborative supply chain, with the ultimate aim of the company being positioned to deliver fully finished sub-assemblies for automotive programmes.

The grant funding is provided by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and was approved by Birmingham City Council.

Enhanced capabilities
Anthony Evans, managing director of Sarginsons Industries, said: "This is yet another step in our constant drive for improvement and growth. We have invested heavily in recent years to enhance our capabilities and to offer so much more to our existing customer base and to new clients too.

“This will provide us with an opportunity to really benchmark that and will see us working with all of our employees over the next 20 months as part of the programme.

“Ultimately, it will help us to diversify what we can offer and reach our ambitious targets for growth.”

Sarginsons recently launched its Technology Centre as well as a Design for Manufacture (DfM) white paper that offers the company’s clients the opportunity to work with the team from the outset of designing a part or product to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Claire Wall, from NMCL Automotive, welcomed Sarginsons onto the programme. She said: “This is a critical time for the automotive supply chain and we are delighted to be able to support Sarginsons in their aspiration for continued improvements in competitiveness, productivity and growth.”