Pendle Engineering ‘steels’ itself for further expansion

Steelwork manufacturer Pendle Engineering is poised to generate sustainable growth including higher turnover and new jobs thanks to support received from Boost; Lancashire’s business growth hub.

Managing director Chris Smith has created a tailored programme to develop a vision, objectives and strategy that will support the ongoing success of his second-generation family business.

Currently celebrating its 41st birthday, Pendle Engineering has grown from humble beginnings as a one-man-band making wrought-iron gates, to become a subcontract steelwork manufacturer with a 75-strong workforce, supplying to sectors including rail, defence, office furniture, automotive, and cycling.

The business also successfully manufactures a range of high-quality bike racks and cycling accessories, under the Pendle Bike Racks brand. Pendle Engineering’s wide-ranging capabilities include welding/fabrication, tube-bending, laser-cutting, CNC machining, and powder coating. It supplies local, national and international companies including Jaguar Land Rover, Network Rail, the Ministry of Defence, and Senator International.

Boost is Lancashire's Business Growth Hub and is led by the Lancashire LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) and Lancashire County Council and supported by funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Chris undertook a Business Support Review with a Boost business advisor which led him to receive one-to-one mentoring support from specialist Community & Business Partners’ mentor Louisa Scanlan. Chris said: “I found the Boost mentoring programme to be a fantastic way of getting third party help as safely as possible.

As someone not used to dealing with external advisers, it was comforting to know that Louisa had already been ‘vetted’ as a suitable mentor for me. We clicked straight away, and I think the proof in the pudding has been us continuing to work together after the mentoring finished.”

Louisa said: “My ongoing work with Chris relates to various HR and coaching matters and I am confident that this will help him take Pendle Engineering to the next level. This is a well-run business with an impressive customer base and it’s a privilege to have helped in their success story."

Chris added: “Our vision is to be the manufacturer of choice, delivering Quality, Service, and Value to our customers through our passion and our People. This QSVP brand drives our business objectives and strategy. “We have an appetite for growth and continual improvement, which we intend to benchmark through prestigious accreditations and increased turnover and profit. The QSVP mantra underpins all strategic decision making and will help us to achieve sustainable growth, a natural consequence of which is job creation and additional turnover.”