Shropshire Star

Laser specialist pinpoints opportunity for growth following major funding

Whitchurch-based Needham Laser Technologies has relocated to a new unit thanks to a grant worth more almost £70,000.

Published
Aled Ellis, Hannah Ellis and Caroline Cattle

The firm, which has also launched its new range of laser marking products, initially to the UK market, has moved to a new unit on the Waymills Industrial Estate.

The move has been made possible thanks to the grant that was supported by the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Born from parent-company The Needham Group Ltd which, for over 50 years, has specialised in the manufacture and distribution of printers, inks and fluids to a wide range of sectors, NLTL was established to specialise in the development of laser marking technologies and the manufacture of laser systems.

With its intensive period of product development now nearing completion, the need for a dedicated manufacturing space became ever more pressing, the firm said.

Managing Director, Aled Ellis, said: “By evolving from being a distributor of existing laser marking systems, to developing and manufacturing our own, the need for a dedicated space became increasingly important to the success of this new enterprise.

"Our vision is to both manufacture our laser marking systems as well as build upon our existing team of engineers to provide excellent frontline installation, service, and support.

“We knew that the group’s existing facility in Whitchurch was already nearing capacity but with the need to share a number of resources and create synergies across the entire group, it was important that we could stay within close proximity of the existing site. We were, therefore, fortunate to find premises opposite our parent company’s HQ and it is the group company that has purchased our new unit.

“However, as the new tenants and to best meet our specific requirements, we have needed to carry out a series of improvement works to the unit and the grant that we’ve received is making this possible.”

Work on units 1a and 1b at Waymills has included the creation of dedicated office space which included rewiring and cabling; the refurbishment of an existing area to create a welcoming canteen space for staff; the creation of manufacturing, production and testing rooms, as well as R&D space; showrooms to support the sales function and storage space which has been constructed on unused land outside of the main building to meet health and safety requirements.

The grant received by NLTL is part of the £2.5 million Marches Building Investment Grant (MBIG) which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

It has enabled the firm to expand and diversify whilst remaining true to its north Shropshire roots where the family-owned company has been based since it was established in 1962. Already, the expansion has resulted in five new full-time roles being created and with the firm continuing to grow, it is anticipated that further appointments across sales, warehousing and engineering will be made in the coming months.

Speaking on behalf of the MBIG grant scheme, programme manager Caroline Cattle, added: “The scheme is intended to support businesses which need to finance extensions, renovations or reconfigurations in order to realise their growth potential. For Needham Laser Technologies, being able to expand whilst staying close to its parent company and having sufficient space to realise its growth potential was absolutely vital, and it’s been a pleasure to support them through this process.”