As a result of the double contract win, the firm’s turnover has increased from £6 million to £8 million.

The Walsall based firm secured the contracts within the construction industry, thanks to their material sourcing expertise from vast global supply chains. The ability to source correct materials from a global foundry network is proving to be a competitive advantage for Majorfax, who specialise in supply chain management in order to find the best and most cost effective method of casting production.

Steve Cooper, managing director at Majorfax, comments: “2013 is going to be a very buoyant year for the company. The two recent contract wins within the construction sector really complement out existing work and proves that our supply chain management proposition is transferable across many industries”.

Global sourcing of components can often be a difficult task. Factors such as selecting the correct foundry in order to adhere to quality specifications, choosing the correct material type for castings at the design phase and also hidden costs of importing and exporting are all common areas where many firms adopting an in house global sourcing strategy may come unstuck.

Mr cooper believes that a focus on developing close working relationships which remove the burden of project management from the client is what set Majorfax apart from competition when tendering for the newly acquired business. “By ensuring that we have a firm understanding and close working relationship with our customers, all parties understand what is to be expected from the finished part and therefore why a certain method and route of manufacture is to be used to achieve the results that the customer requires. This in turn helps us to bring a project in on time often under budget with the minimum amount of fuss”, added Mr Cooper.

In addition to the recent influx of new business, Majorfax has also recruited a new graduate, with whom they will invest the required time and energy in order to shape his skills from grass roots level. The appointment is part of a long term strategy at Majorfax, focused on recruiting talented youngsters to their vastly experienced workforce.

Majorfax have been supplying castings for over 30 years and have a wealth of experience and knowledge that can save customer’s not only precious time but unnecessary costs during design, pre-production and bulk supply when sourcing raw, machined and or sub-assemblied castings.

Majorfax, specialist suppliers of machined and finished castings based in Walsall, are set to sponsor a student engineering award for the Black Country University Technical College with the aim of encouraging the next generation of skilled engineers into the manufacturing industry.

The firm has established a positive relationship with the college in a bid to raise awareness amongst local youth of engineering opportunities and the role that they can play in helping to shape Britain’s industry in the future.

It is well documented that there is an ageing demographic amongst the UK’s manufacturing workforce. Highlighting this, a recent survey conducted by The Manufacturers’ Organistion (EEF), revealed that three quarter of manufacturers are currently struggling to find staff with the right skills. Almost half of manufacturers said that recruitment is one of the main concerns for their business.

To address this, Majorfax are now focussing on being proactive towards creating links with schools and colleges, to address the skills gap within the industry.

Majorfax are donating a sum towards sponsoring prizes for Year 10 and 12 students later on this year.

Managing Director Steve Cooper started out his successful manufacturing journey as an apprentice and wants to highlight how important it is to acquire and shape practical skills.

Steve Cooper, Managing Director of Majorfax said: “Apprenticehips are so important to the future of manufacturing. 30 years ago apprenticeships were plentiful and you were proud to be an apprentice, you were the next generation and being given a fantastic opportunity.  Fortunately apprenticeships are starting to make a comeback as manufactures start to realise that we have to invest in our future generation now before it’s too late. The Black Country University Technical College offers a unique learning experience for students. The approach to curriculum and apprenticeships is well-renowned for integrating technical and academic abilities.”

With over 25 years’ experience in the foundry industry, Majorfax offer extensive castings knowledge to local and worldwide businesses. The firm has gained a well renowned reputation as a leading castings supplier in the UK, providing the best pricing and supply arrangements for customers.

The firm’s turnover is up to £6.5m from £5m in 2011. The growth is part of an expansion plan that is likely to see the turnover rise to £8m in 2013.

The firm’s success is attributed to its careful attention to the sourcing of castings, mainly for use in agricultural machinery and construction. An example of this success includes a recent export contract worth around £500k. Majorfax will be supplying chassis castings and wheel centre castings to Challenger, part of the Agco Corporation in the USA. They have shipped the initial five containers totalling 80,000kg, with each part weighing between 250kg and 850kg each.

Majorfax prefers to do part of the added value work in the UK. Steve Cooper, Managing Director, said: “We have considerable finishing and powder coating facilities in the UK where we prefer to do the precision engineering work”.

A key component of the Majorfax growth success story is their unique positioning as a global sourcing specialist. The company also has an office in China with personnel on the ground who can respond quickly to customer requirements. This saves clients the time and expense of flying from the UK to and from a supplier in China.

Steve Cooper added: “The shipping of parts can be time consuming, especially if you are not ordering a full container load. We look after all the importing, all the importing duties, and all the deferred VAT. As long as we have a schedule we will hold two months’ stock. The customer doesn’t have to import two or four months’ stock.“

“Buyers have realised that you can’t just place an order and hope that the parts will turn up”, said Mr Cooper. “Our customers have realised that you have to visit the foundries to access their ability, before committing to tooling. If you just sit in a UK office, by the time the samples have arrived you have lost several days, if not weeks. If you see the samples first hand when the preproduction batches are ready, you can inspect, approve, assure quality and avoid any lengthy delays”.

Established in 1984, Majorfax offers castings for a wide range of industries. The castings include Grey & Ductile (SG) Iron, Carbon and Stainless Steel and Aluminium and Brass (bespoke to customers’ individual requirements). Its castings are often found in road sweepers, dust carts, tractors, and crop sprayers.

This release was picked up in The Birmingham Post, Midlands Business News, and The Business Desk. The coverage highlights our strength and passion within the industry.

As a company dedicated to quality and customer satisfaction, a major part of making sure that our supply chain runs smoothly includes regular visits to the Far East by key members of staff such as the Managing Director, Commercial Director, Production Manager and Quality Manager. Majorfax are keen to remain a hands on company to make sure that the best possible service is given to our customers – and if that means we need to go to China 5-6 times a year – we will.

The reasons for the visits are various: regular contact is good to keep relations with our partner foundries running smoothly; quality inspections of partner foundries, new samples being produced and castings they are producing for us; auditing new foundries as potential partners; discussing face to face production schedules and quality requirements.

The face to face contact helps to smooth any cultural and language problems and is something that all parties find incredibly useful.

Our next visit is scheduled for April 2012 as Gary Cox (Quality Manager) and Bob Wheeler (Commercial Manager) follow up tours in February 2012 and November 2011 with our latest review.

John Hughes, Senior Sales Manager at Majorfax said: “We are delighted to secure this contract as Majorfax was founded on work for the agricultural market so we’re particularly proud that our first contract to supply castings to America should be in this sector.”

In North America, AGCO have seen a growing demand for high-horsepower wheeled row crop tractors machines with improved efficiency and productivity. By supplying parts directly into the facility in Minnesota, Majorfax will be helping to ensure AGCO have the flexibility to customise individual machines to individual customer specifications.

Steve Cooper, Managing Director at Majorfax believes orders such as this shows the companies strength and gives an indicator of things to come in 2012, “Historically, we supplied machined and painted castings into AGCO’s manufacturing plant in the UK; with manufacturing moving to Europe and the US we have been able to evolve our supply solution skills to meet the demands of supplying quality castings to global locations.”

Dedicated to contract and subcontract manufacturing, Subcon covers everything from design and prototyping to finishing and testing. Subcon is a showcase for the latest technology and the finest manufacturing services in the world.

Keep an eye on the website in the next few months for updates on Majorfax’s plans for the event.

Please also visit the official show website for more infomation.

www.subconshow.co.uk

John, who joins the team as Senior Sales Manager, has over seven years foundry experience working for a high end automotive aluminium foundry in Coventry and a world leading supplier of prototype and motor sport castings in Shropshire.

Prior to joining Majorfax, John’s previous role was as a Senior Account Manager with a Coventry-based niche vehicle firm which manufactures some of the most expensive cars in the world.

In 2008 John headed up the team that was awarded the Cast Component of the Year Award by the Cast Metals Federation.
John and his team won the award for their work on an innovative and elaborate cast aluminium building façade for a development in Bury St Edmonds, believed to be the first of its kind. John was instrumental in overseeing all aspects of the project from the initial sales enquiry, casting development,production and delivery.

John’s role at Majorfax will include developing the company’s portfolio by targeting clients with an interest in sourcing machined and finished cast products, as well as promoting the company’s finishing and assembly services to new and existing customers.

John said: “I am extremely excited about joining Majorfax. This is a company which has a fantastic reputation coupled with limitless potential to grow and develop. I’m looking forward to promoting Majorfax to be the casting supplier of choice for all of our current and future customers.”

Majorfax’s Managing Director, Steve Cooper, said: “We are delighted to welcome John to the team and hope his experience will help to strengthen our offering when delivering high quality, effective manufacturing solutions to our clients.”

Having set off on the 6th of October from London Zoo the 145 miles were completed on the 8th when they finished at the Gas Street Basin in Birmingham.

Despite being sore and tired the two were delighted to have raised money for one of the UK’s leading learning disability – Mencap

There is still time to donate, please visit www.justgiving.com/majorfax-and-law.

On behalf of Steve and Dave we would like to say thank you to everyone who has donated so far!