Grant allows Oswestry manufacturer to expand and create jobs

An Oswestry-based manufacturer will realise its growth ambitions having been awarded a grant by the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). The grant, worth over £97,000, is part of the Marches Building Investment Grant (MBIG) which was launched earlier this year. It is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and has allowed essential expansion work to be carried out at the firm’s site on the Mile Oak Industrial Estate.

Formed in 1966 and acquired by current directors Kevin Taylor and Colin Derbyshire in 2013, CV Rollers (TPP) Limited specialises in the manufacture of bearing related products. Since their purchase of the business, turnover has increased from £800,000 to over £2.1m and they are now the market leader in their field.
It was, however, the formation of a relationship with Hansen International, a global leader in commercial and industrial vehicle components, which really expedited the need for further growth.
Colin Derbyshire explains: “Our relationship with Hansen opened the US market to us and we’ve consequently secured orders with OEMs and two of the main fire truck manufacturers over there. Added to this, our business in the UK continues to expand on an almost daily basis.
“When we found out, from our Manager at Lloyds Bank, about the MBIG finance we realised that it could offer us the opportunity to fast-track our much-needed expansion to capitalise on the new business opportunities that we’re continually securing.”
The Marches Building Investment Grant totals £2.5m and is open to businesses across Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin who need to fund extensions, renovations or reconfigurations of commercial premises.
Speaking of the application process, Colin continues: “Applying for the grant was a relatively straightforward process and we felt assured that Programme Manager Caroline Cattle was on-hand to support us with any queries that we had in that respect.
“The impact that it will have to our business cannot be underestimated. Simply, without it we wouldn’t have been able to contemplate such a rapid expansion and it’s likely that we’d have been looking at gradual growth over two to three years, as opposed to the six months that we’ll have achieved this in.”
Having received the grant, CV Rollers will be able to create five new full-time jobs by the end of the year in addition to its existing 18 roles. The building work has not only facilitated an extension at the side of the factory, but has also created a mezzanine floor from which further CAD design work and administration can be carried out.
Caroline Cattle, MBIG Programme Manager, comments: “CV Rollers has enjoyed significant growth in recent years and as this continues, the need for additional space has become a priority. The extension and other renovations that the grant has facilitated will allow for not only new jobs in the immediate short term, but also future growth which could create additional jobs.”
LEP Director Gill Hamer adds: “The difference made by schemes such as this shouldn’t be underestimated. Our previous Redundant Buildings Grant Scheme saw a rich and diverse range of buildings across the Marches transformed and brought back in to useful economic use.
“As one of the first project completions, the extension at CV Rollers demonstrates perfectly how the grant can facilitate both the conditions for immediate and longer term, growth and job creation.”
Open to businesses trading with other businesses (B2B), the scheme awards grants of up to 45% of the total project costs (to a maximum £100,000) and are intended to cover conversion and alteration costs. They cannot be used towards purchasing property, equipment, or ‘excessive’ landscaping costs. Nor can they be made retrospectively.
Applicants to the Marches Building Investment Grant can be either owner-occupiers or tenants although for the latter, they must have a fixed term lease with at least 6 years unexpired.
Residential property is exempt from the scheme as are buildings used for agricultural, horticultural, retail or hospitality purposes.
The scheme is expected to attract up to £3m in private sector investment in the region and lead to the creation of 130 jobs. It has been part funded by the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme, 2014-2020.
Herefordshire Council is the accountable body for the scheme. Full details are available from Caroline Cattle and Alison Rogers on mbig@herefordshire.gov.uk or by calling the Marches Growth Hub team on 0345 6000 727.