When founder of ALS Mechatronic, Andrew Steward, walked off stage at the inaugural SoGlos Gloucestershire Business Awards 2021 after being named entrepreneur of the year, it was another high point for the engineering firm.
The business he started in the spare room of his flat in 2002 had already won a Queen’s Award, but the recognition from his home county was something special – and that success is also found in the firm’s bottom line.
Laura Steward, executive director at the Cheltenham-headquartered firm, said: ‘As of April 2022, the company’s order book was already at its total revenue for 2021 (£3 million) and by the end of its current financial year end, expects to more than double its 2021 revenue (£6 million).
‘The company is forecasting revenue to grow to £25 million in the next five years.
‘We are continuing to grow in the UK as our customer base old and new require more and more innovative automation solutions, however, North America is an incredibly strong market for us, which accounts for approximately 55 per cent of our total sales – despite the pandemic.’
Ahead of October's Willans and Hazlewoods-sponsored SoGlos Gloucestershire Business Awards 2022, which sees ALS Mechatronic in the running for international business of the year, the company reflected on the importance of celebrating the county's business achievements.
‘We are proud owners of a SoGlos Gloucestershire Business Award. There are many more businesses like us, doing all sorts of incredible things, who also deserve this sort of recognition from the local community and their local peers,’ she said.
‘These awards deliver this recognition and help elevate companies and individuals in peoples’ minds, so they can realise and be proud of the success stories on their doorstep.
‘These awards can inspire local talent and attract new people to the region because they want to work for these businesses.
'ALS’s mission is to be globally regarded in our industry as the benchmark for quality, price, technical capability, service and innovation, and therefore one of Gloucestershire’s best engineering success stories.’
ALS Mechatronic provides 'innovative mechatronic engineering solutions' including bespoke factory automation systems, control systems, robotics, and inspection equipment, all aimed at improving the efficiency.
The firm has just announced two promotions to its board of directors as it prepares for its next phases of growth - Chris Fitzsimmons to services
director and Daniel L’Estrange to engineering director.
Investment in apprentices also continues, with the business expected to create more jobs when it develops additional manufacturing capacity later in 2022. It's apprentices are trained through Gloucestershire College.
