STROUD PRECISION ENGINEERING COMPANY CELEBRATES EXPANSION AFTER TOUGH YEAR

A precision engineering company is investing in new equipment and moving to bigger premises after a roller-coaster year as it was called on to boost its supply of critical equipment to the medical sector.

Nortim Precision, taken over by Tony Powell in 2014, is moving into a 7,000 sq ft factory space at Oldends Lane, Stonehouse, near Stroud.

The company, which turns over more than £1 million annually, manufactures precision engineered parts for a range of industries, from oil and gas to electronic, medical and nuclear. When Boris Johnson announced lockdown in March last year, the UK’s manufacturers were not sure what to expect, but at Nortim, the uncertainty lasted for just 24 hours.

Tony said: “The day after the government lockdown announcement, we received a letter from one of our biggest customers asking us to stay open because they needed us to supply critical parts for one of their key machines which is used in NHS operating theatres.”

Like many other manufacturers, Nortim staff were considered key workers and throughout the whole of 2020, all the staff (bar one who had to self-isolate for health reasons), continued to work.

Tony said it is the diversity of his customer base which has helped Nortim to survive and enabled investment in growth.

“We used to do most of our work supplying the oil and gas sectors, but they have experienced fluctuating fortunes of late, so over the last few years we have actively been broadening our customer base.”

This strategy has paid off. The pandemic dominated every aspect of the medical device sector in 2020. UK government incentives supported the industry and it has flagged its intention to continue supporting innovation, pledging to pump tens of billions into the sector over the next few years.

Despite being a relatively small precision engineering company, Nortim has an impressive roster of customers.

These include Cheltenham-based Spectrum Medical, Poeton and Severn Glocon in Gloucester, and Oxfordshire companies RAL Space based at Harwell Campus and fusion power company Tokamak Energy at Milton Park, along with global energy company Schlumberger, to name just a few.

Tony said: “These companies work with us because we’re fast and flexible and produce high quality engineered parts.

“Our new factory space in Stonehouse will help the business grow and will widen our customer base even further. We are very excited for the move and can't wait for new opportunities to come our way.”