Completing the largest contract in its 34-year history has ensured the Black Country's In-Comm Training and Business Services has recorded its best ever 12 months.
The training provider saw turnover rise past the £1.2m barrier in 2015 after delivering a project for a large manufacturer resulting in more than 110 staff take part in Business Improvement Technique (BIT) courses.
The £500,000 programme focused on creating teams of employees that could work on 12 improvement projects designed to maximse energy efficiency; improve logistics; quality, and streamline supply chain interaction.
Five experts from In-Comm – including a black belt in ‘six sigma’ – have been delivering the training on-site, with a quarter of the workforce now qualified to Levels 2 and 3 in the process and quality pathways.
Managing director at In-Comm, Gareth Jones explained: “This contract was all about instilling the right culture and making staff think about how their individual roles impacted on the business and what they can do in order to make a positive difference.
‘There is no doubt offering these type of opportunities helps with staff retention and motivation, with the management already seeing hundreds of thousands of pounds of benefits being generated from improved workflow, reduced inventory and additional capacity to compete for new contracts.”
The past 12 months were significant in In-Comm’s history and saw the firm team up with Salop Design & Engineering to launch a new training academy in Shropshire (ITAS).
This ambitious venture has created up to 60 places for apprentices in the region keen to pursue a career in engineering and manufacturing, with long-term plans to increase this to 200 students by 2018.
In-Comm has been offering industry and commerce a wide range of training and business solutions for almost 35 years; this includes support in management development; health and safety; quality assurances; Investors in People; business improvement techniques; lean manufacturing, and specialist skills courses.
The firm also has a proven track record of developing engineering apprentices through its range of specialist packages that are tailored to meet customer needs; which include staggered start programmes, training delivered at the client’s site, and intensive learning at In-Comm’s own workshop and machining centres.
There was also considerable investment at its existing Aldridge site, including the purchase of 15 brand new lathes; an additional 4 milling machines; the expansion of its Fluid Power Centre; CAD suite; welding capabilities, and the installation of a 3-axis CNC machining centre and miller.
Jones continued: “We’re up about 20% on this time last year and the long-term vision is to grow the business to over £4m by the end of 2020.
“There has also been the recruitment of five new staff, with three more to follow…this will take our total workforce to over 38. Despite this growth, we want to continue to build long-term relationships with our customers so that we offer the best possible personal service…a fact highlighted by our ‘Very Good’ rating in a recent Ofsted report.
