Importer looks to future after securing contract.

Byline: Iain Laing

AN importer of Chinese engineering components expects its revenues to jump by half after landing a five-year contract with engineering giant Caterpillar.

And Global Manufacturing Supplies Ltd (GMS Ltd) of Prudhoe in Northumberland has also secured a pounds 150,000 investment to expand as it builds its pounds 6m turnover.

The 11-year-old firm won the investment from NEL Fund Managers to help it gear up for the additional stock and logistical requirements that come with the Caterpillar contract.

Managing director Owen Ingram said: "China's manufacturing reputation has improved significantly over the last few years, and is now recognised as a cost-effective, reliable manufacturer of quality engineering products.

"Our team has gone to great lengths to find the very best of these manufacturers, auditing more than 800 companies in the last five years to identify those with which we wish to do business, and which we know provide the quality of service and product that our clients expect.

"Marrying the work we have put in to build up our Chinese networks to the cost and efficiency benefits that working with them offers our European customer base creates a powerful commercial offering, and adding the Caterpillar name to an already impressive client base demonstrates the services we offer.

"We are very much a North East company, and the future expansion that we have planned will be based around the knowledge and expertise of the team we have built up, and which we plan to continue building here.

GMS was founded by Mr Ingram in the spare bedroom of his Prudhoe home and has grown to now employs 22 people, which he hopes will increase to around 30.

It has built up a network of more than 60 fully-audited Chinese manufacturing companies from which it sources a wide range of components and services and its client base also includes other blue chip engineering companies, such as JCB and Britax PMG.

It won the investment from Evolve Finance, the debt and mezzanine finance division of regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers. Evolve senior investment executive Simon Johnson said: "GMS has used the engineering expertise of its senior team to take advantage of a significant commercial opportunity, and the progress that the company has made in just a decade is highly impressive."