'A fantastic business': MP's verdict on Black Country engineering firm
"A fantastic business doing really well' – that's how a Cabinet minister summed up a bespoke Black Country engineering firm which has recently expanded thanks to a government grant.
International Development Secretary Justine Greening paid a visit to precision engineering specialists A&M EDM.
The company, based on Park Rose Industrial Estate in Smethwick, was able to employ 14 new workers and build a new factory unit after receiving more than £450,000 from the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership's Regional Growth Fund.
Ms Greening was given a tour of the factory on Thursday and praised the firm as well as the work of the Black Country LEP.
Ms Greening said: "The fund is a fantastic initiative because what it does is create a pot of money that doesn't get decided on by central government but by our Local Enterprise Partnership, run by business and the local authority and public sector, who really know the area and come up with the proposals.
"The Black Country has so far received £172 million invested into companies, projects and schemes that will help this part of the country to grow. These funds are vital as it allows companies like A&M to invest in new machinery and open a new factory, as well as take on new employees. They can, in the future, expand further. It is a fantastic business that it doing really well, it is very niche and specialised, so it is high skill. I was told that people who work here are trained for ten years to get up to the level required to do the work for the clients that they have.
"The fund is fantastic for the Black Country and Birmingham, it enables them, with all their heritage, to be successful in the 21st century, and it is companies like this that are part of that."
Ms Greening was also introduced to the company's most recent addition, a £250,000 die sinker machine, which was in the middle of a 26-hour process to refurbish engine parts for a 1930s train. The company first opened in 2002 with just two employees and now has over fifty.
The company's managing director Mark Wingfield , who is originally from Quinton, said: "We do lots of precision and development work on new projects, it is a bespoke service, we make other people's dreams into reality.
"There are lots of fantastic companies out there but they do not do research and development work like we do, so to have growth in R&D is unbelievable."
"It is fabulous to have the visit from the secretary. The fund has enabled us to progress much further much quicker but most importantly it has created jobs for a good many people."
