Nottinghamshire engineering firm grows with technology investment

3rd June 2015

A family-owned Nottinghamshire engineering business has experienced a record year of growth after investing in new technology with support from Yorkshire bank.

Swiftool Precision Engineering has announced a record high increase of 30 percent in sales and is currently recruiting new staff to cater for the rise in activity.

The engineering business targets the nuclear, defence and oil and gas industries with a number of market-leading customers including GE Oil & Gas, Rolls Royce Power Engineering and Aker Subsea.

The business is committed to investing in the latest technology and recently purchased a number of new machines for its special projects cell. This machining and assembly cell has been developed specifically for GE Oil and Gas. Yorkshire Bank provided £500,000 to support the investment.

Swiftool, which was established in 1977, has been a customer of Yorkshire Bank for more than ten years. During that time the firm has increased total sales from £1m to £8m, with Yorkshire Bank working with the business to provide a full range of banking facilities including stock financing to support new contracts.

Stuart Handley and his father Peter, equally own and manage the business which started out as a small tool making company. The award-winning company has demonstrated consistent growth over the last three years, doubling its workforce to 78 employees. Swiftool is currently looking to recruit new sales and production engineers.

Stuart Handley, co-owner and managing director, said: “Yorkshire Bank has always been supportive of our ambitions. With their help we have been able to invest in the very latest machine tools to keep up with growing demand.

“The Bank continues to support us financially, not only in terms of new machinery, but also for key projects and the high level of stock required to fuel the growth we have recently enjoyed.”

The deal was facilitated by Russell Kilner, relationship manager at Yorkshire Bank’s Business and Private Banking Centre in Nottingham.

Russell said: “Swiftool is an ambitious business that is committed to continuous improvement and this has led to impressive growth during recent years. The engineering company is consistently looking for opportunities to innovate to provide the best product for its growing customer base and we have been delighted to provide funding for its latest investment.

“As economic conditions continue to improve, Yorkshire Bank remains focused on supporting the growth ambitions of businesses in the Midlands.”

Yorkshire Bank has strengthened its support for UK SMEs by becoming the first to partner with the British Business Bank under its ENABLE Guarantees scheme. Up to £125m of new lending by Yorkshire Bank, guaranteed by the British Business Bank, will help more small businesses achieve their growth ambitions.