ABSTRACT
‘The business was like a runaway train, heading steadily towards a cliff edge … the end of the rails was in sight, but we hadn't a plan in place to change direction! We knew we had to change radically to survive, but we were still unprepared for the magnitude and extent of what we would have to do. We were traditional capital plant manufacturers, with a fine new production building, but full of old technology plant, much of it thirty to forty years old. We did have a workforce with exceptional engineering craft and design skills; but we were highly dependent on a declining demand for nuclear processing equipment, our main market category. Worst of all we were losing money, with around 10 per cent losses on our £7 million turnover, leading to a sense of desperation all round the company. We were facing a crisis, and knew that we had to create a widespread awareness of the urgent need for change and innovation. Failure to do so could only be terminal … liquidation! It certainly was a challenge, but here we are today, less than ten years later, a profitable innovator in several new markets, aggressively exporting high quality goods and services; a completely refinanced, re-equipped and re-skilled business. We now serve global markets with confidence and pride, delivering high quality solutions very fast. We have changed everything we do, and the way we do it … innovation has become a way of life here!’
