Member Article

MAS support helps Xamax achieve 40% annual growth

Developing a long-term strategy for growth has helped a Wakefield-based workwear and promotional clothing manufacturer increase its sales by 40% - in just twelve months.

Xamax Ltd has tapped into support from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) to help it understand new market opportunities and to support its ambitious expansion plans that has seen £400,000 invested into updating its Roundwood Industrial Estate site.

It is an approach that has paid off for the company, with turnover rising to £3.3m and five new jobs created to cope with demand.

Gareth Thompson, operations director, explained: “The banking crisis made us look long and hard at our business and where we wanted to go. A lot of the changes we were making were reactive to market conditions and we knew we needed to adopt a more proactive approach.”

“This is where MAS came into the equation. Working with one of the organisation’s manufacturing advisors and a specialist consultant, we were able to take a step back and look at the bigger picture and the sort of processes we needed to put in place to monitor growth and, importantly, profitability.”

He continued: “Using industry specific roadmaps we have come up with a strategic plan to take us to 2017. We’ve already secured shopfloor efficiencies and a 40% increase in sales.”

Xamax is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of embroidered and printed clothing for business, local authorities and the general public, working for more than 10,000 different clients.

The company, which employs 43 people, produces more than 500 different items, ranging from t-shirts and sweatshirts to hi-vis jackets and footwear. It also offers a ‘design your own’ service for bespoke orders.

Recent investment has seen it modernise facilities at its Wakefield factory, including replacing old machinery and creating a modern frontage.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mark Lane .