Name: Formaplex Industry/sector: Manufacturing and engineering Date founded: 2001 The boss: Michael Last Location: South West Latest turnover: £33.2m Three-year compound growth rate (%): 36.24 Latest EBITDA: £8m
Formaplex serves a blue-chip customer base and in 2010 won the machining and assembly contract for the MoD Foxhound vehicles. In July 2013, the company was placed at number 45 in the The Sunday Times’ International Track 200 ranking of Britain’s private companies with the fastest growing overseas sales. It recently partnered with TaeguTec, a supplier of cutting-edge tool solutions, to join the Formaplex electric car world record team.
It is geared for more success, however, as it is investing £3m over the next year to increase its capacity and capability with support from Dunedin, which backed the management buyout of Formaplex back in 2007. With this financial and operational support, Formaplex has gone on to become a UK market-leading specialist of tooling and lightweight components for the automotive, aerospace, defence and motor sports markets.
The company said it would use the investment to further increase capacity with a new 100,000 sq ft factory, expand its current manufacturing facilities and invest in new manufacturing technology.
Growth has been positively impacted by renewed confidence in the UK’s automotive sector and increase of international demand for UK premium car brands – a trend supported by the fact that Rolls-Royce and Bentley recently posted record sales for 2014. The company also suggested that it benefited from regulatory drivers such as the call for reduced emissions and improved fuel efficiency, which has increased the use of lightweight materials and components that it supplied to vehicle and aircraft manufacturers.
Over the last five years, Formaplex has experienced a fourfold increase in its growth, with turnover increasing from £9.4m in 2009 its current level. Michael Last, managing director, expects sales to top £45m by the year-end.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
