The South East of England is not known for its manufacturing
industry so to find a successful engineering company in
Sussex is unusual, to find a privately owned one more so, to find
one celebrating its Centenary must be a record! For a
hundred years Brighton Sheet Metal has been providing sub-contract
manufacturing services to a wide range of industries throughout the
UK and Europe.
Originally working from premises in the St James'
Street/Devonshire Place area of Brighton they existed in a variety
of guises before moving to Lower Bevendean in the early sixties and
are now one of the leading UK specialists in precision, CNC forming
and fabrications for such diverse industries as computer,
electronic, telecom, medical, compressors and generators.
Employing in the region of 100 staff they once owned a series of
well known local companies including Ranalah Gates, Ranalah Steel
Moulds, Engineer's Supplies, Brouralay Tools, Ranalah Architectural
Metalwork and at one time employed more than 300 people in premises
in Brighton, Hollingbury, Portslade, Newhaven and Wiltshire.
Products have included wrought iron gates & balustrading, the
Ranalah Wheeling machine, parts for the Isetta "bubble" car,
mud guards for tanks, a range of space heaters, the Nippy
rotary dryer.
Changing tastes and technologies resulted in several major
restructuring particularly in the late 1980s and again in the mid
90's when the company concentrated its efforts on fabrication work
at its Lower Bevendean site, expanding into the old Harrimond
factory in 1997.
A review of historic figures shows that the company has tracked
the fate of British industry pretty closely a continuous cycle of
boom followed by recession ((including a bankruptcy in 1947), the
telecom crash of 2000, global competition. Employment,
health and safety and environmental legislation all has been taken
in their stride and they have responded to market needs and trends
as required: Direct Line Feed, Just In Time, KanBan stocks,
Lean Manufacturing etc. Providing work to world class
companies has kept BSM on its toes in terms of innovation and those
visiting cannot but be impressed by the skills and facilities
demonstrated by what was once a "back street" business amongst the
Victorian slums of east Brighton.
Now equipped with the latest automated cutting and forming
equipment, BSM continues to weather the recent recession, global
competition, increasing material costs. Their Managing
Director, Bill Taylor believes the reason for their continuing
success is a "... willingness to embrace change, a dedicated,
skilled and loyal workforce and an ongoing investment programme
aimed at lowering costs by increasing productivity, efficiency and
skills...". He also noted that a "...deliberate policy of
seeking customers from a wide spectrum of industries has offered a
degree of protection in difficult times." Their
nomination for a variety of awards in recent years including
Manufacturer of the Year, Export Growth, Responsible
Business, Business Growth demonstrates their constant strive for
excellence in all aspects of the business. Having held ISO
accreditation for many years, they achieved the ISO 9000:2008
Quality certification in early 2010.
BSM continues to train a multi-skilled workforce able to react
to customers' varied demands and increasingly short lead times, and
in 2010 took on three Engineering Apprentices, the first for many
years. This will be a rolling programme reinforcing the need
for a multi-skilled workforce able to respond quickly to the ever
changing production demands that are part of synonymous with
life at Brighton Sheet Metal.
The company prides itself on the number of long serving
employees and over the years has employed many generations of the
same local families. This year marks a milestone for their
Technical Sales Director, Malcolm Holman who joined BSM as an
Apprentice Toolmaker in late 1960 and therefore is celebrating 50
years with the company. Malcolm said "50 years have flown
by, being a sub-contract company there is never a dull moment, and
to see the company still thriving after all these years is very
satisfying."
Brighton Sheet Metal is creating a historical record of the past
100 years and would welcome stories, photographs, old literature
etc. from former employees and the general public. It is
hoped to arrange a series of events to celebrate this milestone in
the early summer. Any information would be welcomed and can
be sent to Jane Young as follows:
By post to Brighton Sheet Metal Ltd., The Hyde Business Park,
Auckland Drive, Brighton BN2 4JW
E mail to jane.young@brightonsheetmetal.co.uk
Telephone 01273 602216 Ext 222
