Profits up for firms defying gloom

Gary Smith from Steadfast Solutions" class="imageframe imgalignright" height="250" src="http://www.expressandstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/wd3102330steadfast.jpg" width="175"/>Some Black Country firms are now bucking the credit crunch trend - by surviving, reports Elizabeth Joyce.

With the country teetering on the brink of a recession and businesses going bust by the day, it is rare these days to hear anything other than doom or gloom in industry.

But Black Country firms are out there bucking the trend with soaring sales, powerful profits and, most importantly, bright futures ahead of them.

One such success story can be found at Steadfast Solutions in Oldbury.

After receiving redundancy notices from their engineering firm in Neachells, Birmingham, Gary Smith and Steve Moseley ploughed their life savings and more than 20,000 man hours into the new company.

The specialist engineering firm started out in a small unit in Smethwick with just a handful of customers. Within two years, there has been a 100 per cent increase in sales and it now operates from two sites in Oldbury.

Mr Moseley, aged 43, said his firm was debt-free and going from strength to strength.

The father-of-two said: "There is no secret to business, it's all about keeping your costs down and working hard.

Quality

"When we were first starting out we always said we wanted to deliver a quality product as quickly as possible. That meant we were turning work around in 14 or 15 days that would take other companies two or three months. It is all about quality and efficiency.

"At first it was difficult as we were a small business, but if we said 'Thursday afternoon' we meant 'Thursday afternoon' even if that meant working 24 or 36 hours straight."

Mr Moseley said he and Mr Smith, aged 32, were in the black as they had no bank loans hanging over their heads.

He said: "We bought our first machine with our savings and that then financed another and then another. You have to control your costs and know your overheads inside out."

Steadfast is now focusing on the aerospace sector, which accounts for 75 per cent of the company's turnover.

Father-of-three Mr Smith said: "Quality is a major aspect of the aerospace sector and securing this industry standard will ensure we retain existing business."

Both men also thanked their families and Business Link West Midlands for their help in the start-up of the company.

"What I would say to people who are struggling out there is that there's no big secret to business, as long as you've got the basics right and are providing a good-quality product there shouldn't be any doom or gloom."

The Steadfast story comes as hundreds of other firms, particularly in construction and retail, are taking a battering from the credit crisis.

Design

But experts claim many Midlands manufacturing firms are bucking the trend due to their established history and commitment to design, innovation and development.

Wolverhampton's Fern Plastics Products is moving in the right direction following a multi-million-pound management buy-out.

The move has seen Iain Graham become the company's new managing director after buying into the business. Mr Graham, formerly of PDS Consultants which was employed by Fern, took a stake in the firm with two members of the management team.

"We saw a great opportunity to buy into this strong, established business," Mr Graham said. "Fern has a loyal customer base due to its reputation for high-quality, technically challenging manufacturing.

"The business has tremendous scope for expansion."

Also enjoying the benefits of a buy-out is Colter Steels of Willenhall.

The company's new management team has ambitious plans for the rolled-steel strip firm, which has already started to export to Poland and China.

Colter Steels changed hands in a move led by commercial director Steve Smallman and operations director Colin Giles.

Established 26 years ago, the booming business now has three factory units.

Mr Smallman said: "In the first months of trading, as well as successfully growing UK sales, the company has already started exporting to Poland and China."

But Black Country bosses said their mix of common sense and quality products would be enough to weather the storm.

Mr Moseley from Steadfast Solutions concluded: "Yes times are hard for a lot of people, but if you get the basics right and focus on the two main things, your product and customers, you can't go too far wrong."