central south mid market
GROWING
Spotlight on BDO Central South Mid-Market award winners
We find out from Tony Lockwood, managing director, BOFA International, and Paul Winter, finance director, Red Funnel, what it takes to be a BDO Central South Mid-Market award winner
Central South Mid Market Company of the Year: BOFA International
BOFA International was commended for its leadership, vision and innovation, as well as business planning that focused on investing in new technologies.
The Poole-based company is a leader in fume extraction technology. It manufactures filters and filter monitoring systems used by original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in their products. Examples include laser printing on plastic bottles, printed circuit board production and dental milling. BOFA filters remove harmful fumes from the production line and minimise downtime. Its patented filter designs with unique features extend their life to reduce the total cost of ownership.
Filters improve safety and productivity
“Our success is driven by understanding the safety and productivity challenges OEMs must overcome, and our ability to bring innovation to the market,” said Tony Lockwood, managing director at BOFA. “We decided early on to lead with technology that addresses OEM priorities, which creates a gap to our competitors.”
BOFA’s focus on OEMs, rather than end users, is another business advantage. “We create strong relationships with OEMs. They see the value we bring and rely on our technical knowledge to create the best solutions for their host products. They sell our filters on their products through their sales channels. We have a presence in 120 countries.”
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businessmag.co.uk Tony Lockwood
BOFA’s iQ Intelligent Operating monitoring system checks filter performance and warns if it detects problems. Data is stored on a USB stick that can be sent to a local BOFA helpdesk to analyse. This year, iQ2 will be launched with wireless connectivity direct to BOFA. “It’s almost as good as having our engineer on your site,” said Lockwood. “No-one else has a product that offers these features.”
Queen’s Awards boost global reputation
In 2012, BOFA won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, based on its export trade, and in 2017 it won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation, for the iQ system. Lockwood had set a business objective of BOFA achieving two Queen’s Awards.
“The first time we wondered whether we could do it. We realised we were a strong contender but it was an arduous task – there’s a lot of documentation to complete. The second time, I used a bigger team led by our marketing manager.”
Lockwood highlighted the profile- raising benefits of winning. “The ‘Made in Britain’ statement and royal recognition really matters. You can go
to markets around the world and it means something. Customers – and potential customers – are pleased to be associated with us. It gives them reassurance that we have been evaluated to a very high level. We have also benefited from local and international press coverage.”
Double-digit growth
BOFA’s revenue grew from £16.1 million in 2015 to £25.1m in 2017 and is expected to rise to around £29m in the year to May 31, 2018. Lockwood said the company intends to maintain double-digit revenue growth. “We have invested £5m from cash reserves on new systems and buildings, as well as taking on around 100 new staff. We delivered all this and maintained good EBITDA/growth + cash,” he said.
The company has a clear vision for future growth. “We know where business will come from and where we need to be to reach £50m annual revenue. Our rolling three-year plan includes establishing new offices in Mexico, Canada and China. We will enhance relationships at a local level with global OEMs, and increase our presence in developing markets.”
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018
RESILIENT
SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY
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