Bishop's Cleeve-based Ontic is a global aviation equipment manufacturer that has been supplying aircraft parts across the world for 50 years.
In 2019, it became an independent company when it was acquired from BBA Aviation by capital partners CVC, and since then it has seen its revenue and staff numbers sky rocket.
In the past five years, Ontic has doubled its turnover and more than doubled its staff headcount from 600 to over 1,400 — with its early-careers staff numbers increasing by 300 per cent, with 90 per cent of those being based in Gloucestershire.
The firm, which is recognised as one of the world’s leading aerospace companies, has also grown to seven sites globally, by adding two new UK facilities, one at Staverton and one in Bolton, Lancashire.
Ontic also announced earlier this year that it has renewed its partnership with CVC as its majority owner and, additionally, are bringing in a number of new investors to further drive its rapid growth and to provide more capital for for investment into further product lines.
Natalie Doel, global marketing manager at Ontic, said: 'Our business model is uniquely positioned in the global aerospace sector. We sit within a specific part of the aircraft lifecycle; sustaining the design, manufacture and repair of aircraft parts which are no longer supported by the original manufacturer.
'We now produce over 8,000 parts to 1,500 global customers; this equates to supporting around 80,000 in-service aircraft — so we like to say that there’s an Ontic part on nearly every plane flying in the sky right now.'
Its Gloucestershire operations account for about half of its business overall, with the firm placing the development and wellbeing of its staff and its care for the local community as its top priorities.
On top of increasing its training budget by 30 per cent for 2024, at its Gloucestershire sites specifically, Ontic has promoted 19 per cent of its workforce, giving 125 employees a step up on their career paths; it pays out annual bonuses to all staff based on the business's performance; and introduced a new apprenticeship bursary in partnership with Young Gloucestershire for care leavers, with three apprenticeships reserved for them.
Natalie continued: 'We are very proud of how much our employees love working at Ontic; and we have a strong recognition culture from quarterly and annual recognition awards, to a popular ‘shout-out’ feature on our intranet and regular celebration lunches — it’s all about thanking our employees.
'We also have a fund set aside to support colleagues in need. Last year, a colleague who was on sabbatical lost all his possessions in a fire, so we used this fund to help him get back on his feet.'
The Ontic team are also passionate about supporting Gloucestershire charities. Last year, it raised £35,000 for charity, including sponsoring Greatest Hits Gloucestershire’s Mission Christmas campaign; and all employees are able to take a paid volunteering day each year.
Natalie said: 'Last year we donated £72,000 to charity globally. This year, we have formalised our corporate giving policy which covers sponsoring local sports teams, emergency appeals and contributing to employee-led fundraising.'
The staff also tend to the Ontic
garden at its Bishop's Cleeve site, which even has a honey-producing beehive.
Next year, it hopes to add to its early-careers offering, by taking on 15 apprentices and 10 graduates in the 2024-25 academic year.
For more information on Ontic, visit ontic.com.
