Major funding package will drive growth at Bury Firm

13th March 2013

A leading Bury manufacturer is targeting ambitious growth after securing a six-figure asset finance package for new machinery from Yorkshire Bank.

Thumbs Up (Bury) Limited manufactures and supplies plastic housewares and storage products to major supermarkets and high street retailers throughout the UK and Ireland. It has recently expanded its markets to include supermarkets and distributors throughout Europe.

In addition, the company has seen significant growth in its Irish market following an exclusive distribution agreement with one of Ireland’s biggest independent wholesalers. The last 12 months have seen the company launch 80 new product lines and the next year will see many more new lines being made available for UK customers as part of the company’s continuing investment in research and development of new machinery and tooling.

The funding provided by Yorkshire Bank has been used to acquire 10 new Negri Bossi injection moulding machines that will complement Thumbs Up’s existing machines, increasing its production capacity to 73,000,000 pieces per annum. This extra capacity will enable the company to support both its growth plans within the UK and the growth in its new EU markets.

Founded in 1978 by John McGuinness, Thumbs Up employs 250 staff at its production and distribution facility at Dumers Lane, Bury, and produces over 2,000 different product lines.

The company has seen turnover increase year on year, with further strong growth forecast for the current financial year and beyond.

Stephen Cox, relationship manager at Yorkshire Bank’s Business & Private Banking Centre in Manchester, said: “Thumbs Up has a highly capable management team, sound financial controls, and a great – and growing – product range that underscores its enterprising credentials.

“Given these powerful drivers, it isn’t surprising that Thumbs Up has generated impressive year-on-year growth that augurs well for the future.”

Richard McGuinness, managing director of Thumbs Up, said: “This new asset finance facility from Yorkshire Bank will enable us to continue our investment in state of the art machinery, keeping us at the forefront of new technology, notwithstanding challenging economic times.”