Coventry-based Sarginsons Industries, a leading Midlands lightweighting specialist, says the investments it has made in the past 12 months should lead to growth in the New Year.

The company, which is based in Torrington Avenue, has invested in technology and people despite the challenges of Covid-19 and has even been winning new contracts during the pandemic.

Managing director Anthony Evans said the company’s diversification and increased consultancy activity through the Sarginsons Technology Centre could be the catalyst for growth in 2021. He said: “It is fair to say 2020 is not what any of us were expecting but we have continued to invest and grow, despite all of the challenges that we have faced.

“New business opportunities increased during the second half of the year, both in terms of series demand, prototype builds and our ability to offer Design for Manufacture (DfM) capabilities. This is an area that we believe will become even more popular in the future.

“We took the opportunity to strengthen our MagmaSoft modelling capabilities, with online coaching and the investment of £100,000 in a MagmaStress stress seat and further MagmaSoft technology.

“MagmaStress has provided a new competitiveness advantage and is enabling us to communicate live data to OEMs for stresses and mechanical properties as opposed to traditional fixed data inputs.

“We took the decisions to utilise the downturn to commence the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Levels (NMCL) which is a business-wide development programme to deliver optimum business operating systems. The programme is already achieving positive outcomes.

“Enquiry levels for complex chassis systems have been extremely high and this, in turn, has initiated an advanced research programme via Design of Experiments in conjunction with Brunel University, to enable us to develop high ductility alloys to meet the OEMs’ demand levels with our sandcast prototype processes.

“New product introduction programmes have commenced with global OEMs including companies in the USA, China and Scandinavia. All of these programmes have started with DfM orders and are leading into prototype build demand.”

He added: “Capital investments have also continued in metallurgical, metrology and automation programmes. We are very pleased that, in the eye of an international storm, we have continued to invest in technology, in people and in our future.

“Next year will see Sarginsons embark on a further Catapult R&D programme with Brunel University and Sheffield University, which will be focused on aerospace programmes and high-integrity aluminium castings.

“It means that we can look forward to 2021 with optimism as we work with partners to deliver new lightweight solutions for manufacturing as we look to continue growing.”