BEST PRACTICE HOLDS KEY TO SUCCESS FOR CORNISH FIRM

A Cornish manufacturer is turning up the power while celebrating a major order for new products and the most successful year in its fifty-year history. Arcol UK Ltd, which relocated to Threemilestone just outside Truro in 1972, now employs 37 and needs to expand to meet increased capacity demand and fulfil new contracts.

The company manufactures and supplies power resistors, a component used extensively in the manufacture of electrical products that feature a change of voltage or require a protection device to a secondary electrical component. It is used extensively in lighting and heating products, and also in the more specialist aerospace and defence industries.

More than 80 per cent of Arcol's products are manufactured on site and are exported to more than 40 countries. Over the past five years fast growth has been experienced in US markets but managing director Mike Pritchard believes this is about to be surpassed by the emergence of demand in India, China and South Africa. With the help of Alex Nicholas, personal business adviser at Business Link Devon and Cornwall, he was keen to improve Arcol's business performance even further to meet existing demand and be prepared for forecasted growing global demand for its products.

"We achieved our highest turnover to date in the year just ended thanks to the efforts and efficiencies of all our team members," explained Mr Pritchard. "We have been assisted by Business Link in the past with marketing projects but most recently we won a contract with a specialist electrical catalogue distributor and it was really important we reviewed all our business processes to ensure we could deliver upon demand. Business Link proposed their Support to Implement Best Business Practice programme and since then it's been all systems go."

The programme, developed by Business Link and the Department of Trade and Industry, offers a comprehensive range of information, advisory services and financial support to help businesses become more efficient, competitive and profitable.

The starting point for Arcol was a diagnostic review undertaken by Business Link to benchmark the business's performance against other electrical component suppliers to see how it measured up.

Alex Nicholas, who is based at Business Link's Bodmin office, said: "The process is quite straightforward. We provide a list of management information we require and this is entered on to the DTI's diagnostic database. The results are usually back within 24 hours."

A meeting follows to go through the diagnostic report to identify key issues to take forward. "It really provides a critical analysis of your business and it is really up to you if you take it or leave it," commented Arcol's technical director, Alun Morgan.

"We decided to concentrate on improving elements that would enhance our growing business - principally; supply chain, managing working capital and people management issues."

As a result Arcol UK Ltd has received funding for consultancy support from Business Link, employed a new person to concentrate on implementing a supply chain programme and reviewed its management team and staff structure. Arcol has also teamed up with Penwith College for delivery of a range of new staff training initiatives as well as other training schemes and initiatives with Truro College and the South West Manufacturing Advisory Service. All staff are now training in "Lean Manufacturing" techniques and the five-strong management team recently attended a Forum 21 intensive strategy workshop run by Business Link to help high-growth companies realise their potential.

Mr Pritchard says: "For us the Implementing Best Practice diagnostic exercise was invaluable. It provided an independent view of the company, tells us how we are performing compared to others in our sector and gave us the opportunity to stand back and consider how we can improve our performance. But at the end of the day we need the mindset to take these changes on board and that's why the training is so important."

Business Link has received Objective One investment (European Regional Development Fund and EAGGF) to help companies in a variety of ways.

For further information please contact Carolyn Daw on 01822 833488, mobile: 07866 697057, email: cdaw@marketing-pr.co.uk or Sarah Gunn on 01752 509581, email: sarah@sarahgunn.co.uk.