TALKING BUSINESS


STUCK ON A PLAN FOR GROWTH


They may be invisible to the naked eye but we are surrounded by Lohmann Adhesive Tapes products. MD ROGER CHURCHILL tells inbusiness about the success the manufacturer has achieved and his plans to expand the UK subsidiary further


From vital components in touch- sensitive keyboards and smart phones, to diagnostic test strips and decorative badges on cars and trucks, advances in the company’s adhesive technology means Lohmann Adhesive Tapes UK Ltd solutions are used in a wide variety of applications. Their products can operate in


extreme temperatures from -40C to 180C heat. When converting, materials can be manufactured to a tolerance of 0.0125mm accuracy. Lohmann Adhesive Tapes has achieved an impressive result in the last six


Adhesive technology in keypads


years by securing 13% year-on-year growth. It also doubled the size of its premises when it moved from Aylesbury to its current headquarters in Knowlhill, Milton Keynes, in 2010. More recently in 2012, it acquired Katco, an electronic focused company –


a strategic move to help Lohmann diversify its product portfolio. Managing director Roger Churchill, told inbusiness: “We tend to thrive on


challenges that other people run away from. It’s often the odd, obscure and complicated where we do best. “About 90% of what we sell is bespoke, meaning we specialise in creating


solutions for our customers manufacturing difficulties. “We specialise on process engineering and our projects are often long-


term. Just to give you an idea – we’ve been involved in a six-year-project for a new speaker system, whilst another involving a fuel cell has so far lasted 14 years, both products are coming to market this year, we hope!” Now the UK firm, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the global


Lohmann group, is planning to expand again. It intends to double the business and increase its current work force of 40 to 65 by 2020. “In order to continue to grow to that extent we have to move to bigger


premises to accommodate the higher stock levels, staff and machinery. “Milton Keynes is a good strategic location for us to serve the UK market


‘MILTON KEYNES IS A GOOD


LOCATION FOR US TO SERVE


THE UK MARKET PLACE’


TALKING BUSINESS


8 inbusiness APRIL/MAY 2015


place with its great transport links and access to the North and South. “London is only 45 minutes away and from a local perspective, the city


has population of around 250,000 and there are eight universities and institutions in the area. “We’ve been working with Milton Keynes Development Partnership for the


past 18 months and have tentatively agreed to a design and build with 45,000 to 47,000 sq ft floor space and hope to move by 2018. “However we have a couple of large contracts which necessitate large


premises so there may be an interim solution we need to find.” Since becoming a member of Milton Keynes Chamber, Roger says the firm


is already feeling the benefits. “I wanted us to be part of the local business community and I think the


Chamber is a good nucleus for this. It is our local Chamber and has a good presence in Milton Keynes, which is growing well. “We also joined because of the training it offered which has been very


useful for us. We look forward to using more of this service, in fact we have three staff attending future courses.”


W: www.lohmann-tapes.co.uk T: 01296 337888 E: info@lohmann-tapes.com


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