Sheffield components manufacturer is back in the black after implementing turnaround plan

P&B Metal Components is back in the black, after recording a £606,000 profit with sales growing to £22.75m for the last financial year, following two years of significant losses.

The Sheffield-headquartered company, with a subsidiary manufacturing facility in Malaysia, annually makes more than 500m engineered metal components for the avionics, automotive and defence industries, as well as for domestic appliance manufacturers and the industrial control and automation segments.

P&B said it has a strong order book with further plans to increase its sales capacity to satisfy increased demand from its key customers in North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Managing director Brendan Kendrick, said the turnaround plan for P&B which celebrated 60 years in business in 2021, had involved consolidating sites and establishing a new business structure in Sheffield.

He said: “We consolidated Kent and Yorkshire operations in 2020, with the site in Sheffield now being the new HQ and only UK site, accompanied by one Asia-based site in Malaysia.

“The new business structure in Sheffield features a revised board including a chairman, managing director, technical director, finance director, operations director, sales director and June Bushell, the joint founder of P&B who is still active in the business today.

“After posting two years of losses we now have a £22.75m group turnover and we made a profit of just over £600,000 for 2021-22. Additionally, our site in Malaysia delivered a profit this year for the first time since being established in 2014.

“On the customer service side, we have established a new customer service function to deliver world class service for customers.

“Operations management-wise, we have reinvigorated our people strategy including wage increases, improved retention initiatives, skilled workforce recruitment and reinvigorated our apprentice programme. We have our own in-house product and tooling design team for early customer engagement.”

As a contact assembly manufacturer, P&B supplies to a global market of more than 200 customers spread across 30 different countries. It supplies multinational OEMs such as Siemens, Honeywell and Worksop-based Eaton with critical components.

Mr Kendrick added: “We are now matching and exceeding customer volume requirements, we are seeing strong demand in our focus segments and geographies.

“We continue to work through the challenges of Covid and Brexit. P&B exports 90 per cent of its products, so we are faced with Brexit, supply chain and international trade challenges.

“Through the factory consolidation and Covid, a key consideration was keeping key suppliers on board. We have a strategy to keep supply local and we are proud to have Sheffield-based Thessco, as a key supplier.

“There are supply chain challenges as lead times have increased from eight to as much as 26 weeks for some key base materials.”

“The business outlook is positive, and we are positioning the business for growth in line with the company’s business plan. We currently employ 120 staff in Sheffield and 70 in Malaysia. A key challenge is people and the recruitment of skilled toolmakers, setters and welding engineers including factoring in diversity and inclusivity.”