Coventry aerospace supplier soars to second King’s Enterprise Award

Coventry aerospace supplier soars to second King’s Enterprise Award win after export sales boom

Arrowsmith Engineering (Coventry) is flying high again in export markets after it was announced as an International Trade winner in the latest King’s Award for Enterprise list.

The company, which is part of the rapidly growing ASG Group, has seen overseas sales rocket by nearly 400% following the pandemic, with orders now accounting for 35% of the firm’s annual £7.6m turnover.

Precision components manufactured in its Bayton Road factory in Coventry are sent to global customers in China, France, Germany, Singapore and Spain for end use in aerospace engines, landing gears and air frames.

A strong investment in new technology and robotics, coupled with the creation of ten new jobs, has given Arrowsmith the capacity and capability to win work against rivals ten times their size.

Plans are now in place to build on strategic partnerships with ITP, Mecachrome, Incora and Rolls-Royce to take annual sales past £25m over the next two years. This should result in the creation of a further 15 jobs in the UK.

Jason Aldridge, Managing Director of Arrowsmith Engineering, commented: “It has been some turnaround from the very depths of despair during Covid to the renaissance we are seeing now and in the future.

“Civil aviation – a major market for us – literally dropped off the cliff (40% reduction) with the pandemic and we had to show good old-fashioned resilience and a fair bit of business innovation to get through it.” He continued: “We also moved with the changes in the sector with the location of customer production facilities changing. Thanks to our technical expertise, our ability to add value in design and the financial strength of the ASG Group, we were able to secure contracts in new countries, as well as securing one of the biggest orders to supply parts for the German-built jet plane project called ‘Pearl 700’.

“All of these reasons have contributed to our outstanding short-term export growth and led to us winning the International Trade King’s Award for the second time in our history. It’s a real landmark moment for us.”

Arrowsmith Engineering, which has recently been reaccredited for the Silver SC21 supply chain award for quality and delivery performance, is continuing its quest to get more female engineers involved in aerospace.

A recruitment push has seen women make up nearly a quarter of the workforce and it’s a figure Jason and his management team want to continue through more work with local schools, colleges and universities and by using existing engineers as mentors to showcase what ladies can achieve in industry.

Jason concluded: “The King’s Award will definitely help us with recruitment, especially when you consider we are competing with some major car makers and aerospace primes locally.
“The process is one of the most stringent in business and I’m delighted for our wonderful staff. Yes, we have invested heavily in the best technology, but our people are still our greatest asset and selling point. This Award is for them.”

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