BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
THE NEW WORLD
A new investment has seen a West Midlands
manufacturer broaden its horizons even further
and accelerate its expansion plans overseas
BY CHRIS BECK
Regular readers of Manufacturing
Management will be familiar with strategic
outsourcing specialist, PP Control &
Automation. Its brand of world-class, lean
manufacturing has made it a fl agbearer
for all that’s good in UK manufacturing,
and has led to the company being able to boast
some of the biggest names in the machine tool,
packaging & printing machinery, scientifi c
equipment and food processing sectors amongst
its customer base.
This success has meant the company’s factory
in Cheslyn Hay, near Walsall, has undergone
signifi cant expansion in recent years to keep up
with demand. The fi rm has also diversifi ed its
off ering: it is now able to provide an anti-static
room for electronic assembly and has developed
new partnerships within automotive electrifi cation
and medical devices.
When Manufacturing Management paid a visit
to the company’s CEO, Tony Hague, earlier this
year, he told us how the company is broadening its
horizons following an investment in June 2018 by
Ardenton Capital. Under the Canadian investment
fi rm, PP Control & Automation is targeting £40
million of sales by 2023.
“We’re now 15 months into the Ardenton
investment,” says Hague. “In addition to looking
at organic growth, it is very keen for us to aim for
or whether it’s accelerating
accessibility to an industry
sector by buying a business
that’s already in that space.
We are also looking at overseas
acquisitions and partnerships.
“All this was something that
would never have been possible
under the previous private
ownership because the funds
wouldn’t have been available
to do it.
“Ardenton is a long-term
partner with no divestment
strategy. There’s no thought
about building a business to
a point and selling it to make
money. It holds businesses,
and so because of that, it will
invest for the long term.”
Ardenton’s support has been
a game changer for PP Control
& Automation, allowing it to
progress its long-term aims of
global expansion. “Our plans
have always been to get PP on
a global scale,” says Hague.
“However, wanting that, and
having the capability and
growth through acquisition, whether that’s the
purchase of UK-based businesses,
the cash to do it are two
diff erent things. It would
have most likely stayed a pipe
dream without an investor like
Ardenton.”
Being a 230 person-strong
business, with a relatively small
management structure, the fi rst
step was to bring in members
of staff who could help the
company realise its ambitions.
“I’m an engineer turned into
sales and marketing at the end
of the day,” admits Hague. “I’m
not a fi nance expert. The fi rst
six months of the investment
were about getting everything
up to speed. This year has been
about recruiting some key hires
and getting a structure in place
in terms of additional people,
resource and digital capability,
which is pretty well fi nished.
“With such a small team,
we ran the risk of spreading
ourselves too thinly, and taking
our eye off the ball – we’ve still
got the UK business to grow,
for example, and that takes
time and resource. Then you
start talking about expanding
into North America, and all of a
sudden, you think, ‘who’s going
to be doing all this?’ We have to
be really careful not to become
busy fools. The problem with
running too fast is that you
can be running in the wrong
direction, and before you know
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