About a railway arch, then a foundry.
Founded by a toolmaker in 1979, run by his daughter since 2014, and still owned by the family. 142 people in a former foundry on the Tame Valley canal.
Our story.
Forty-seven years, three buildings, one name over the door.
- 1979A railway arch in Smethwick
Ron Kelderby, a toolmaker, starts out alone on a second-hand lathe making press tools for local stampers.
- 1988First CNC machine
A three-axis machining centre bought on a five-year loan. The first aerospace order follows in 1990.
- 1996ISO 9001
Formal quality system. Sixteen people, two shifts.
- 2004Move to Oldbury
A 41,000 sq ft former foundry building on the Tame Valley canal, with room to grow.
- 2011AS9100
Aerospace approval and the first 5-axis machines. Harriet Kelderby becomes managing director in 2014.
- 2016Sheet metal
Laser, press brakes and welding added to serve medical and energy customers.
- 2019ISO 13485 and cleanroom
Medical device approval and a 140 m² Class 7 cleanroom.
- 2023380 kWp solar roof
Around a third of our electricity now comes from the roof over the machines.
- 2026Lights-out cell
A second 32-pallet cell runs unmanned through weekends.
Every bar has a heat number. Every heat number has a certificate.
Fig. 3 · Material store, bay 2
People you will actually speak to.
- Harriet KelderbyManaging director
Second generation. Joined as a setter in 2002 and still reviews every new aerospace quotation.
- Marek NowickiOperations director
Runs the shop floor, the schedule and the automation programme. Ex-RAF technician.
- Dev OkonjoQuality director
Owns the AS9100 and ISO 13485 systems. Has never once said 'that will do'.
- Priya SandhuEngineering manager
Leads programming and process planning. Writes the first program for every new part family.
- Siân PryceCommercial manager
The person who answers your RFQ. Will tell you if we're the wrong supplier for the job.
- Gary WhitlockApprenticeship lead
Forty years at the bench. Has trained 61 apprentices, 48 of whom still work in engineering.
Swarf is a resource.
- Solar
- 380 kWp on the roof, around a third of our electricity
- Swarf
- 100% segregated by alloy and recycled, coolant spun out and reused
- Coolant
- Centralised system with filtration, 40% less concentrate since 2022
- Compressed air
- Leak surveys quarterly, variable-speed compressors
- Scope 1 and 2
- −29% per £ turnover since 2019 baseline
- Standard
- ISO 14001:2015 (Cert. no. EXAMPLE-0004)