Investment in new machinery at a Scunthorpe engineering company will create jobs and help to fulfill a growing order book.
S&E Engineering (Scunthorpe) Ltd has taken on two new recruits following the £200,000 purchases, made possible by a grant from the Regional Growth Fund.
Pleased with the RGF money that has enabled S&E Engineering to invest in state-of-the-art machinery are (left to right) general manager Jim Swan, senior foreman Phil Musgrave, RNS partner Robert Smith, managing director Martin Sanderson and senior sales representative Simon Sanderson.
The firm has thanked RNS Chartered Accountants for the role it played in highlighting the grant potential and helping with the necessary paperwork.
Managing director Martin Sanderson established the business more than 25 years ago.
In that time, it has undergone major expansion and now employs 26 people at its base on the South Park Industrial Estate.
The latest investment in computer-controlled machinery was made possible by the RGF monies, said Martin.
“It contributed £40,000 or 20% of the total capital costs,” he said. “It’s enabled us to purchase a new lathe and a plasma cutting machine.
“Both allow us to increase our capacity and improve our flexibility. Without them, we would have had to have outsourced the work.
“They now allow us to keep it in house, improving the service we provide to our clients.”
General manager Jim Swan said those clients were across a number of sectors, including petro-chemical, oil and food. Its largest client, however, was Tata Steel.
“The order book has improved dramatically over the last 18 months and this has given us more confidence to invest,” said Jim.
Huge investment had been made in computer-controlled machinery over the last seven years, which had enabled the firm to improve efficiency and capacity.
“One operator can look after two machines, programming one while the other is working.”
Martin thanked RNS partner Robert Smith for his assistance with the RGF grant, distributed by North Lincolnshire Council.
“He identified we were eligible and assisted us enormously with the portfolio we had to prepare.
“We are grateful for his support because the RGF monies enabled the additional growth and the two new jobs,” he said.
Robert said: “RGF is ideal for firms such as S&E. It provided that extra confidence and assurance that made the firm’s investment worthwhile.
“It is for capital equipment that will generate extra jobs. We have also identified significant savings on the taxation front that will help the firm further,” said Robert.