CORBY COMPANY REACHES FOR THE SKY
The sky’s the limit for a Corby based company which makes machines to carry roofing materials on construction sites and warehouse conveyor systems.
Since the first machine was developed in a garden shed in 1986, Mace Industries has developed a national and international reputation and set up separate companies to sell to customers in Australia, the United States and Poland.
Mace Industries was started by brothers Tony and Richard Mace, who were in the roofing trade and is now recognised as an established family business with Tony’s son Luke helping to grow the company.
The East Midlands business wanted to develop a solution that would make it easier to carry tiles to the roof – a term known as ‘bumping out’ so they set about the successful launch of their machine they nicknamed the ‘Bumpa’.
Today, the new generation of Bumpa is considered as being the most popular portable loading machine on the market and the Corby company has developed a range of portable conveyors for the building and warehousing industries. Twenty-three people now work at the Mace Industries factory on the Earlstree Industrial Estate in Corby.
The company is expecting to increase its output from 70 machines a month to 110 to keep pace with demand and is making the most of business support services to improve systems across the its operations.
Advisers from the regional Business Link service and the East Midlands Manufacturing Advisory Service have shown the company that by changing its administration and production systems can result in improved efficiency and productivity. Export markets have been opened up with the help of UK Trade & Investment, with the company now trading through distributors based in Iceland, Holland, Sweden and South Africa, as well as through its companies in the US, Australia and Poland.
Luke Mace, regional sales manager of Mace Industries, said: “The company is growing incredibly quickly and we wanted to strengthen our systems and train people better so that we could build strong foundations for future growth.
“Working with the regional Business Link service we have seen the benefits of introducing automated systems to streamline our business. We have also changed our production methods, giving employees better job satisfaction because they now take responsibility for producing the whole machine, not just a part of it.”
The regional Business Link service helped Mace identify and successfully apply for, funding for the development work - including employing specialists in exporting and business systems, which has really helped transform the business.
Luke said: “Business Link services have improved vastly since I first became aware of them and the service now relates more closely to the actual needs of industry. We wish we’d asked for their help earlier. We would advise any company thinking of changing its operations to get in touch with Business Link right at the beginning.”
To find out more about the company, click here.