A Stockport-based manufacturer has increased turnover by 45% after investing in new machinery and moving the business to a larger factory.

Wheatley Plastics and was established over 60 years ago. The business manufactures plastic injection mouldings, supplying the electronics, medical, packaging, construction, retail and plumbing sectors.

The company also provides a total project management service, including technical advice on tooling and product design and development. Due to the breadth of its offering, the firm already had a large customer base with a turnover of £1.32m per annum.

The company had been based in an old mill in Stockport since its inception. However, the large customer base had led to a marked increase in demand, meaning the company needed to move to create increased capacity and the ability to fulfil its order book.

To help facilitate the move, Wheatley Plastics managing director Gary Knight sought the support of GC Business Growth Hub. Manufacturing advisor Andy Hinton helped Gary to implement lean manufacturing techniques, improve existing processes and improve the layout of their new factory. Furthermore, having worked with Gary to identify how the purchase of new dryer equipment would help to further reduce lead times and increase turnover, Andy also helped the firm to apply for a Manufacturing Growth Fund capital grant, giving the business 50% of the cost of the equipment, which was installed in the new factory in early 2018.

As a result, the company has been able to decrease its lead times and increase its capacity, leading to a £600,000 rise in turnover. In turn, this has meant five new jobs have also been created, taking the total number of staff to 25, to meet the increased demand.

Andy Hinton said:

“Working with Wheatley Plastics was a genuine pleasure - I visited the previous property and was impressed with the flow through the factory. Moving to a new facility meant Wheatley Plastics could increase production, but in order retain their profit margins, they needed to eliminate waste throughout their operation.

“Gary was open to all of my suggestions and recognised the value of investment to support the company’s growth ambitions. It has been very fulfilling to see them now go from strength-to-strength.”

Commenting on the assistance given to Wheatley Plastics, Gary Knight said:

“I’m really pleased with the support from Andy. He helped me to identify some potential challenges with the new site, including some issues with the flooring. I was able to resolve this prior to relocation which has helped us to avoid unnecessary downtime.

“The support and funding from GC Business Growth Hub has been fantastic for the business. Not only have we made some real strides towards achieving our growth ambitions, but we have also been able to better serve our customers.”

Wheatley Plastics continue to win new business and are now on track to increase turnover to over £2m this year. Gary is keen that the business keeps growing:

“The increased floorspace offers us the chance to realise some of our business plans and continue to grow. There’s an opportunity for us to boost productivity by making better use of our data and considering automation, this will be a key priority for us going forward.”

If your business would benefit from fully-funded support to help achieve your growth ambitions, please visit www.businessgrowthhub.com/manufacturing to find out more.