An independent family business in Coventry has bought a new machine as part of a six-figure investment.
MPL Fabrications, which is based on the Aldermans Green Industrial Estate, has been specialising in precision sheet metal work for the rail, electronics, defence, automotive and healthcare industries for more than 40 years.
Now the company has brought a brand new piece of equipment after securing £40,000 grant funding through Coventry City Council's Coventry and Warwickshire Business Support Programme.
The machine - which is now installed and up-and-running - has replaced a 30-year-old CNC punching machine.
In total, MPL Fabrications invested £108,000 towards buying the machine along with its software and tooling. And three new jobs are expected to be created at the business over the next 12 months, adding to its 15-strong workforce.
Managing director Kevin Duffy said: "The CNC punching machine had started to develop quite a lot of faults because of its age last year. It was starting to leak oil, the repair work which needed doing was quite expensive and spare parts were getting harder and harder to source, and the software was also quite old.
"We made the decision that we needed to invest in a new machine because 80 per cent of our work goes through it.
"The new machine will give us flexibility and speed up our work by being able to fold more quickly with the tooling we have so we can bid for new contracts that we couldn't previously.
"Our customers are based all over the UK and in the past, we have had to outsource some of the work which the machine couldn't do but now we have been able to bring that in-house and shorten our deadlines.
"It is important to compete technologically with your competitors otherwise customers may go elsewhere. We will also be adding a welder, fabricator and administration staff to support forecast sales growth during the next year."
Justine Chadwick, account manager at the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Growth Hub, helped Kevin secure the grant funding.
She said: "MPL Fabrications has a history of excellent results by supplying a variety of industries with light steel and aluminium fabrication.
"This investment means the business can carry out more in-house work and improve lead times which will benefit their customers.
"All this means there is an opportunity to win new contracts to meet existing and new customers' demands which will, in turn, secure the future of the business and create skills and employment for the region."
Councillor Jim O'Boyle, cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change at Coventry City Council, added: "It is great that we have been able to support a long-established local business with this grant. It will help them to secure and create jobs which is what it's all about.
"This is a wonderful example of how our business support funding can not only provide help with business growth but also help with reducing out-sourcing to improve customer lead times.
"Coventry is full of innovative small to medium sized businesses that just need that extra bit of support to secure their future aspirations, creating local skills and employment for the region."
