Barnsley manufacturing firm looking to expand from new location

A Barnsley-based manufacturing company, set up 20 years ago, that specialized in making tool belts for miners has succeeded expectations having unexpectedly hit the £1m turnover mark.

Only eight months ago MB Products, a sewing and light fabrication company, spent £500k on a brand new factory to help manage its increasing workload.

However, as the demand for the company’s specialised products continues to grow, Roger and Richard Godfrey are already looking at expanding even further.

Last summer, as well as taking on five new employees to bring the number of staff to 22, MB Products moved to a new 16,000 square foot factory in Wombwell from its previous headquarters in Parkgate, Rotherham.

Enterprising Barnsley, a European-funded programme delivered by Barnsley Council, have supported the company’s relocation and expansion.

As well as manufacturing the belts out of conveyor belt material, the company, founded in 1991, makes dozens of other products including 15,000 wheelchair cushions for the NHS a year and 20,000 specialist industrial drip mats, called Plant Nappies, for nearby Manvers Engineering Ltd.

The family run company also produce a variety of specialist products such as pouches to carry radios for the army, and large-scale bivvy sheets, shooting chair components and gun slips for outdoor equipment companies.

Roger, who is the firm’s the managing director, said: “Diversity is our strength. We have some key customers, such as the NHS and MOD, but we have the capacity to expand production even more and are already questioning whether the new premises are large enough.

“Our growth is down to our ability to develop and deliver products which meet our customers’ needs. I got used to solving problems during my time in mining, and this approach has continued through to the new business.”

Since Richard, Roger’s son, joined the company ten years ago there has been a gradual increase in the number of staff and its turnover.

“We used to be a family company, but we have grown and grown,” said Roger. “We then realised we needed help so that’s when we turned to Enterprising Barnsley. They have been fantastic. They helped us focus and give us more of a professional look, as well as helping with the move.”

Enterprising Barnsley offers free business support to small and medium-sized business with growth potential, and is financially supported by the European Union.It has already attracted £3,015,276 investment from the European Regional Development Fund as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development, through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme.

Shaun Higginbottom, of Enterprising Barnsley, said: “We are delighted that the company moved back in to Barnsley and are doing so well.

“This is a brilliant success story. It just shows how old skill-based industries like sewing, which used to predominantly supply the mining industry can be adapted to supply new customers in new sectors.”