MB Products sews seeds for the future with LEP investment

21.01.15

A grant from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has helped sewing and light fabrication specialist MB Products expand its business and production by moving to a larger factory site, creating five new jobs.

The business has been awarded a grant from the LEP’s Business Growth Programme, which is supported by the government’s Regional Growth Fund. The £50,000 grant has enabled the company to purchase a bigger factory in Barnsley, a vital move to help the business to continue to grow.

And thanks to the LEP investment, MB Products is looking to target a much wider range of market sectors than it had previously been able to.

Roger Marsh, Chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said: “MB Products is a specialist manufacturer and as such requires advanced facilities to allow it to fulfil its potential. We are therefore delighted to have been able to assist the company to move to larger premises, retaining a growing business in one of our key sectors and resulting in new employment opportunities for people living in the Leeds City Region.

“I am pleased to hear that as a result of the new investment, MB Products is now able to take forward work it initially had to turn down due to capacity issues, and now the business is able to continue its goal of increasing the unique services it provides.”

The business currently works in sectors ranging from healthcare to the military, supplying products that have been designed and manufactured in close collaboration with the end user.

MB Product’s previous factory was unable to cope with the company’s growing work-load demand and the grant, part of a £500,000 investment, has allowed the business to move sites to a larger factory, employ five new members of staff and develop bespoke working systems to enhance its expansion.

Roger Godfrey, managing director at MB Products, said: “Our move has enabled the flow of work on the shop floor to become much more efficient. In our previous factory work was stretched across three floors - now it is all on one. This time saving improvement has helped our company to meet the ever increasing demand we are seeing from our expanding customer base.

“The application process for the Business Growth Programme was simple and straightforward. Advice from both the LEP and business support programme Enterprising Barnsley was invaluable as we pursued our application and both organisations provided vital guidance which eventually led to the grant being successfully received.”

The company’s expansion has also been backed by European-funded business support programme Enterprising Barnsley, which is run by Barnsley Council. Its specialist business coaches guided MB Products through the funding application process to the Business Growth Funding.

Enterprising Barnsley business development manager Shaun Higginbottom said: “It’s great to see such a success story in Barnsley. And it proves that with the right help businesses can grow and create vital jobs.”

Small and medium sized businesses in the Leeds City Region that are interested in growing and creating new employment opportunities are being encouraged to attend an event to find out more about how the LEP can support business growth.

The event is taking place on January 27 from 8.30am at Unity Hall in Wakefield, a project that has itself benefitted from LEP investment and is open to businesses based or looking to invest in the Leeds City Region. This provides an opportunity to find out what financial support is available from the LEP and a number of private sector lenders

For further information or to sign up to the waiting list for the event visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/finance-your-business-in-leeds-city-region-tickets-14477152553.