International expansion and accelerating the acquisition trail will be key priorities for one of the UK’s leading suppliers of advanced materials and metals in 2025. Huntingdon-based
Goodfellow, which employs 140 people in the UK and at sites in Europe, Asia and the USA, has set its sights on increasing group sales to more than £30 million through a combination of new material ranges, organic growth and targetting potential companies that add new capabilities, additional products or geographic reach.
Goodfellow CEO Simon Kenney believes last year’s investment in a cutting-edge ERP (enterprise resource planning) system and the launch of a new intuitive website will be key to achieving these aims, not to mention tapping into significant demand from global customers in medical devices, battery development, space exploration and electrification and fusion technology.
He also outlined his company’s ability to provide 98% of materials in 48 hours as a major differential and something he wants to build on. Mr Kenney explained: “2024 was all about laying the foundations for growth this year, from enhancing operational performance and the customer journey through our digital transformation project to the strategic purchase of Potomac Photonics. The latter represents our first US manufacturing facility and gives us microfabrication capabilities that we didn’t previously have and is the type of deal we want to do more of over the next twelve months.”
He continued: “The UK market has been challenging this year, not just for us but for other businesses in our area of expertise. International sales are where we see the big opportunity, with customers now present in more than 60 different countries. For example, a new distribution agreement with MicroPlanet in 2024 is projected to boost turnover in the Iberian market by 50% alone.”
Trusted supplierGoodfellow, which received an investment from Battery Ventures in 2021, supplies a comprehensive range of metals, alloys, ceramics, polymers, compounds, and composites. The company has built a strong reputation as a trusted supplier to firms involved in R&D, advanced engineering, space and the scientific sector, with subsidiaries across Europe, North America and China helping it extend its global reach. From its base in Cambridge, the material specialist also provides a range of post processing facilities, including rolling, electroplating, sputtering, heat treatment, disk punching/turning and guillotining/sawing.
Mr Kenney continued: “We have seen increased demand for specialist metals and materials to support global R&D projects. Our ongoing investment in stockholding allows us to meet this requirement and there has been a definite shift towards needing materials quickly for prototype work, which is where our ‘no minimum’ order quantity really comes into its own.
“Another important development in 2024 was increasing our 170,000-strong product range even further with the addition of three new ranges, including custom alloy powders and high entropy alloy powders, metal microfoils and rare earth metal oxides. The intention is to introduce a new collection of premium materials early into 2025.”
Goodfellow, which was named in the
Best Places to Work 2024 list by
The Sunday Times, is actively looking to recruit, with positions available in the UK and across its international facilities.