North East battery manufacturer fuels growth with new acquisition

A South Tyneside custom battery pack manufacturer is fuelling further growth with the acquisition of the battery division of a power company.

Cell Pack Solutions doubled the size of its business with its purchase of Tracer Power Battery Division from Deben Group Industries Ltd and moved its products and operations to South Tyneside.

Since the acquisition, Cell Pack Solutions has exported its Tracer Power products to 10 different countries, and plans to export to every country across Europe within four months.

The acquisition of Tracer Power means Cell Pack Solutions can extend its battery technologies and reach new markets. Its battery portfolio will now include rechargeable lithium polymer, lithium iron phosphate and lithium-ion battery packs for use within the emergency services, security, astronomy, film & TV and construction industries.

Cell Pack Solutions had considered itself a ‘reluctant exporter’ and with Brexit on the horizon had previously decided to concentrate on the UK market. It now has a global customer base which expands to more than 30 different countries.

The company now operates from a purpose built site in South Shields and employs 28 people, with plans to recruit another five people this summer.

Eddie Czestochowski, managing director and founder, commented: “The last 12 months in general and the last two months in particular have been a very steep learning curve for me, not least not having had much exporting experience and all the challenges that COVID-19 and Brexit has brought.

“As a business it has made us a lot stronger and we’ve hit all our year end targets. We are positive about the future and expect to see very strong growth on the back of this acquisition.

“I’ve always been a keen networker and the deal came off the back of a Friday afternoon call with someone I’d met at a trade show. Within four weeks the deal had been done and another couple of weeks later we’d moved the division up to South Tyneside.”

Cell Pack Solutions has been supported by Invest South Tyneside.

Eddie added: “We were a good fit and the deal has been negotiated on trust. The company wanted to sell to someone who would give their customers the same customer service.

“As two family companies, we shared the same ethos and now our business is looking to grow the Tracer Power brand and expand operations at home and abroad.

“These opportunities do not come along often in life. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time. I am under no illusions that the acquisition has presented huge challenges but I believe that there is no better place to be based than South Tyneside.”