International expansion and accelerating the acquisition trail will be key priorities for one of the UK’s leading suppliers of advanced materials and metals over the next six months.
Goodfellow, which employs 140 people across its HQ in Huntingdon and sites in Europe, Asia and the US, has set its sights on increasing group sales to more than £30m through a combination of new material ranges, organic growth and targeting potential companies that add new capabilities, additional products or geographic reach.
CEO Simon Kenney believes last year’s investment drive and the launch of a new intuitive website will be key to achieving these aims, not to mention tapping into significant demand from customers in medical devices, battery development, space exploration and electrification and fusion technology globally.
He also outlined his firm’s ability to provide 98% of materials in 48 hours as a major differential and something he wants to build on.
“The last twelve months was all about laying the foundations for growth in 2025, from enhancing operational performance and the customer journey, through our digital transformation project to the strategic purchase of Potomac Photonics,” explained Simon.
“The latter represents our first US manufacturing facility and gives us microfabrication capabilities that we didn’t previously have and is the type of deal we want to do more of over the next twelve months.”
He continued: “The UK market has been challenging, not just for us but for other businesses in our area of expertise. International sales are where we see the big opportunity, with customers now present in more than 60 different countries.
“For example, a new distribution agreement with MicroPlanet is projected to boost turnover in the Iberian market by 50% alone.”
Goodfellow, which received an investment from Battery Ventures in 2021, supplies a comprehensive range of metals, alloys, ceramics, polymers, compounds, and composites.
The company has built a strong reputation as a trusted supplier to firms involved in R&D, advanced engineering, space and the scientific sector, with subsidiaries across Europe, North America and China helping it extend its global reach.
From its HQ in Cambridge, the material specialist also provides a range of post processing facilities, including rolling, electroplating, sputtering, heat treatment, disk punching/turning and guillotining/sawing.
Simon went on to add: “We have seen increased demand for specialist metals and materials to support global R&D projects.
“Our ongoing investment in stockholding allows us to meet this requirement and there has been a definite shift towards needing materials quickly for prototype work, which is where our ‘no minimum’ order quantity really comes into its own.
“Another important development was increasing our 170,000-strong product range even further with the addition of three new ranges, including custom alloy powders and high entropy alloy powders, metal microfoils and rare earth metal oxides.
“The intention is to introduce a new collection of premium materials as we move through 2025.”
ERP Investment
Like many industrial businesses, Goodfellow has embraced the digital transformation journey after implementing a new world class ERP system.
Led by CTO Richard Wilson, the company completed the integration of Microsoft Dynamics 365 into its business at the end of last year, which allows it to supply its vast product range more efficiently into clients in more than 30 different countries across the globe.
Together with the company’s new e-commerce website and enhancements to its CRM system, the new ERP provides long-term operational efficiencies and gives it the platform to launch new materials quicker, as well as strengthening its already exceptional level of customer service.
Importantly, it will also ensure Goodfellow has the capability to scale as it looks to increase sales through organic growth and the integration of strategic acquisitions into the running of the business.
Richard picked up the story: “This is the biggest transformation project we’ve completed as a business this century – that’s the scale of what the team has successfully achieved.
“We now have an ERP system that gives us real-time access to every facet of our operation. Cash used to be king, but that is quickly changing to data as it allows us to make informed decisions on purchasing, post-processing manufacturing and sales – all with the aim of supporting our customer base in the best possible way we can.”
He added: “There’s not many businesses like ours that supply up to 170,000 different products so to migrate these to Microsoft Dynamics has been a huge task, but one the IT and sales team have done superbly. What it will help us to do is introduce new ranges quicker and we’re currently in the process of announcing new lines in the coming months.
“Whether it be through AI supporting product recommendations or data insights to aid stock management, we are well set for a digital future.”
Goodfellow, which was named in the ‘Best Places to Work 2024 list by The Sunday Times, is actively looking to recruit, with positions available in the UK and across its international facilities.
For further information, please visit www.goodfellow.com or follow the company across its social media channels.
