West Midlands engineering firm, adi Group, is looking to take on up to 500 new engineers across its more than 30 specialist disciplines to fulfil its growth ambitions over the next four years.
Working to a rolling five-year business plan, adi Group aims to grow turnover organically from its current level of £82 million to beyond the £200 million mark. To do that, the firm wants to almost double its workforce to service blue chip clients, such as Cadbury, Coca-Cola and BAE Systems, across the Automotive, Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, Aerospace & Defence, Pharmaceutical and Petrochemical sectors.
The business was set up in 1990 by Alan Lusty, with a simple goal in mind – to create a ‘one-stop-shop’ for engineering services. From a standing start and just two employees, Alan first established a presence as a supplier of electrical installation services to industry, before adding automation, welding and fabrication strings to his bow over the following 4 year period.
By 1995, adi Group employed 18 engineers but, in just five subsequent years, that figure nearly quadrupled to 70. Growth continued through the Noughties but, counter-intuitively, the pace quickened during the financial crisis later that decade, when Alan invested in change leaders and senior management, seeing turnover grow from £12 million to £82 million and adi’s ranks swelled from 370 to 630 between 2008 and today.
adi Group puts enormous energy into tackling one of the most important issues facing the UK engineering sector – the skills shortage. In 2014, the business launched its own in-house apprenticeship academy, putting together an apprenticeship programme that defines the core elements of thebusiness.
In addition to the more traditional apprenticeship approach, in 2016 the Group launched a unique pre-apprenticeship programme for 14-16 year olds to inspire school children into engineering. In partnership with nearby North Bromsgrove High School, the programme occupies around 10% of the children’s GCSE curriculum and, as well as providing inspiration, also gives them the opportunity of extended work experience.
The key to adi’s growth has been its culture. Alan drew inspiration from Formula 1, putting its innovative, continuous improvement ethics at the heart of everything adi do. This, combined with the team spirit and competition ethics has seen adi go from strength to strength. Visiting adi’s Birmingham head office and it is clear the importance of teamwork, even down to sporting uniforms redolent of the F1 paddock and holding meetings in rooms named after motorsport legends like Moss, Mansell and Hill.
Group Strategic Account Director, James Sopwith, says:
“In order to achieve our strategic objectives, we must identify and attract engineers with the skills and outlook to drive our business forward. We’ve built a driven and dynamic culture here, and work hard to get it right first time for our clients, so we’re looking for high calibre people, with core and advanced engineering skills and the values and mindset to enhance our growing team.”
There are scores of opportunities on the horizon across over 30 specialist engineering disciplines. To learn more about the openings available right now and further ahead in 2018, check out http://adiltd.co.uk/careers