A precision component specialist has posted a 10% increase in sales after making the most of a reshoring boom.
Advanced Chemical Etching (ACE), which supplies parts to aerospace, automotive, electronics, general engineering, medical and telecoms, has secured £800,000 of new orders from companies looking to tap into exacting quality and new product development expertise.
The Telford UK-based company has seen a significant rise in fuel cell projects and others, increasing volume by 25%, and leading to an anticipated drive to achieve £10m sales this year.
This will be boosted by the ramping up of two Chemcut etching machines, giving it a major boost in capacity and faster turnaround times.
Ian Whateley managing director said: “There is so much manufacturing innovation in the UK and we are finally seeing other countries switch back to what we offer.
“In addition to sales, there has also been a 10% increase in the number of new projects we are involved in looking for a strategic partner that can work from design through to early-stage prototyping and low and medium volume supply.”
“Export now accounts for nearly 30% of our annual turnover and we’re seeing really strong demand from Austria, Germany and Switzerland. There are also new opportunities coming in from the Far East and the US and this, alongside strong demand from our domestic customer base, is something we want to explore further with our two Chemcut machines up and running.”
The scope of ACE’s activities can include anything from safety critical components for aircraft and F1 cars, to meshes and electronic connectors, battery interconnectors, cooling plates and heat exchangers.
All parts are developed and manufactured at its main site in Telford and the company’s dedicated sister business, ACE Forming, in Kingswinford.
This means the business is in a rare position of being able to etch or form parts to meet the customer’s cost point and desired performance of the end application.
Chris Ball, executive director of ACE added: “We’ve seen volumes surpass where they were before the pandemic, with aerospace gathering pace as airport traffic surges. We have taken the decision to not only invest in the latest etching technology, but also increase our workforce with eight new people recruited in the last twelve months. £10m sales threshold is definitely in our sights for 2024.”
Advanced Chemical Etching has begun accreditation for aerospace AS9100, with the initial audit taking place in February and approval due in May.
