Birmingham manufacturer to purpose build new HQ

An expanding West Midlands manufacturer is planning to purpose-build a new headquarters in Birmingham to accommodate its strong growth.

Guhring, which manufactures and supplies precision tools for a range of industries – including aerospace, automotive, medical and engineering – employs 76 people in the UK from its current base at the Castle Bromwich Business Park.

The company, which employs 6,000 worldwide, is now developing plans to build a new 50,000 sq ft facility on the eastern side of Birmingham following an upturn in sales both domestically and overseas.

Guhring is also investing heavily in other areas of the business – including in IT – where it has utilised the services of Coleshill-based ACUTEC to upgrade and manage its systems.

Yvonne Clune, Finance and IT manager at Guhring, said: “The engineering sector, in general, has seen a strong lift over the past year and that has helped to cement our own growth.

“We are at the cutting-edge of manufacturing and supply a range of sectors and that has led to the need for expansion.

“That is why we are developing plans to build our own HQ for the UK here in the West Midlands which is at the heart of manufacturing and engineering in this country.

“We are investing in other areas of the business too such as upgrading and outsourcing the management of our IT to local company ACUTEC.

“It came to the point where it was not efficient for us to look after the systems in-house and, therefore, made sense to allow experts in this field to manage and monitor our systems.

“It’s a great example of how the growth of one business can have a positive knock-on effect for other companies in the region too.”

Chris Roche, managing director of ACUTEC, said: “Many business people have got too much on their plate to try to manage their own IT systems, especially when they are focussing all of their efforts on expanding the business.

“It’s great to see the manufacturing and engineering sector in the West Midlands thriving again and, of course, that is good for service-based businesses like ACUTEC.

“We are delighted to be working with Guhring and look forward to assisting them when they come to move into their new UK headquarters here in the West Midlands.”