The company, a specialist manufacturer of lightweight aluminium alloy wheels, is set grow by 30 per cent this year - and aims for further double digit sales growth next year. Rimstock is planning to extend its Church Lane, West Bromwich factory from 120,000 sq ft to 150,000 sq ft to accommodate extra production and will be growing its 200-strong workforce, marketing director Matt Neal said yesterday. Mr Neal, the son of company founder Steve Neal, received the Post Business Award for July on behalf of the company at a reception at Warwick Castle. Steve Neal, a former racing driver, founded Rimstock in Tividale in 1984 to manufacture wheels primarily for the after-market. In the early days the company employed 11 people and turned out 250 wheels a week. But the going got tough when the UK market began to be flooded with cheaper imports and about three years ago Steve Neal, whose family own 51 per cent of Rimstock, decided that survival lay in adding value to the company?s products and becoming a niche producer of ultra lightweight wheels for sports cars and racing teams. Its products are used by top rally drivers and have been taken up by the British Touring Car Championship teams. It is also an original equipment manufacturer for many of the worlds? carmakers, including MG Rover, General Motors, Aston Martin and Lotus. Despite that, however, the aftermarket is still important and its Team Dynamics and 100+ brands account for some 40 per cent of Rimstock?s sales. The strategy has paid off and the company now it sends out 7,500 wheels a week and turnover this year is set to grow from ?13 million to ?17 million. A step forward was taken when it secured nearly ?30,000-worth of business development grants from Accelerate, the automotive supply chain initiative led by Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The grants have enabled Rimstock to install state-of-theart ProEngineer and CATIA software which has helped it to cut the lead times for the development and production of new wheels from 42 weeks to just three weeks - a development which has left its global competitors standing. ?It enables us to meet manufacturers? requirement much more quickly,? said Matt Neal. ?We are picking up new clients as a result. Some people do not believe that we can design, develop and manufacter a new wheel in such a short time - until they experience it, that is.? Rimstock?s performance has been even more creditable because it has been achieved in the teeth of a strong pound that has aided overseas competitors. linktext www.rimstock.co.uk
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