Bright Spark Precision Engineering News

Merc's sister company Bright Spark Precision Engineering has ended its financial year showing impressive growth results of approximately 23%. The aerospace subcontractor machi nes complex seating components for the commercial airline industry as well as intricate parts for a wide range of o ther industries. These include the defe nce industry, lighting & electronics, motorsport and nav al sectors. 

Bright Spark Precision Engineering was acquired in 2008 by local competitor Merc Engineering whose management were sent to Bright Spark in order to develop it. Although the acquisition was considered a daring move at the time as the country had just moved into recession, the deal has brought results beyond the directors’ wildest expectations. A bespoke marketing strategy coupled with an extensive rebranding exercise under the Merc Group umbrella has helped the company to evolve from a small local machine shop to a very fast-growing precision engineering business.

Bright Spark also attributes its improvements in sales to diversifying; in prior years the company has been known locally as a supplier of complex aluminium parts, however the Company now machines all types of materials including stainless and high-temperature nickel alloys. It also spreads its turnover healthily across several large customers across the UK and Ireland rather than relying on one or two.

Bright Spark first ever attendance at the Subcon Show in 2009 has been the stimulus for Bright Spark’s tremendous growth as the company secured orders from several new customers at the Show.

Growing the company during a difficult recession has been made possible by winning new work, but also developing its existing client base and the Company is grateful to the regular customers who have supported it through the downturn.

Says Commercial Director Jon Hoyle:

“We are extremely pleased that the financial year is up by over 20% as it gives us a good foundation to improve on for next year. Despite the impressive growth, this year has been very difficult, in terms of finding the right kind of work at the right prices. As buyers destock we have noticed smaller quantities coming through at very low target prices. Leadtimes have reduced too so flexibility has been the key to our success.”

In order to sustain this level of growth, the new directors have introduced a Change culture and Lean Manufacturing techniques to the day-to-day running of the factory. The introduction of Cell leaders and a Quality Manager position has allowed the company to cope with the intake of new work, swiftly addressing bottlenecks before they appear.

To meet the demand of their increasing customer base, Bright Spark has also recently introduced a night shift and is now operating on a 24/5 basis. In addition, the company is proud to have taken on their first apprentice Chris Schofield who originally did the first two years of his apprenticeship at Merc Engineering and has since become an integral member of the team at Bright Spark.

Continues Mr Hoyle: “The Company owes its growth success to the staff and is proud of their achievements over the previous year. I feel that a lot of business is won because we are extremely proactive at quoting quickly and giving our customers the feedback they deserve. Once we win the work, it is the production team who deserve the merit for the service our customers receive – our right-first time (RFT) levels are extremely high and a very proactive and flexible team of people ensure that our adherence to delivery dates is also impressive. We are confident that all of these aspects contribute to our growth rates.”

Recent investments in new machinery were recently made by the Merc Group, and Bright Spark will receive an additional Mazak CNC Lathe by the end of April as part of a recent £177,000 investment deal made at Merc Engineering in March 2009. Bright Spark’s increased capacity coupled with a growing order book has helped the company to increase their profitability, and the company is now expecting 2010/2011 to show further growth in Turnover.

Following on last year’s success, Bright Spark Engineering has once again booked a stand at the Subcon Show (Stand A15, NEC Birmingham, 8-10 June), and the company is looking towards a bright future.

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