A chance meeting at the annual exhibition of Made in Yorkshire counterpart, Made in the Midlands, has proved extremely fortuitous for one MIY member.
Emma Armitage, Managing Director of Leeds based Excel Water, had been visiting the MIM expo at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry following an invitation.
After visiting the Made in Yorkshire stand at the event, Emma walked past the display by MIM member MCS Control Systems and happened to glance an image on the łrms board.
“We are supplying new equipment to a large car manufacturer in Oxford and we were looking for a supplier to partner with to decommissioning a control panel and reconłgure the software for the equipment we were supplying,” said Emma.
“I had been looking for someone who may be able to help us with this and once I saw the graphic I knew that MCS could do exactly what we needed and that we could buy from them.”
Following a conversation with MCS sales manager Mark Hassell, the two łrms quickly established they had common ground. “I subsequently visited the company and we are now in a position to place a substantial order with them,” said Emma.
“I had not gone to the Expo with the intention of łnding a supplier but when a chance meeting and a little bit of fate collides you have to grasp the opportunity with both hands.
“That’s why the Expo and the wider Made In network is so fantastic, because it has brought me into contact with a supplier I wouldn’t otherwise have known about.”
Excel is now waiting to hear from the car manufacturer about when work might commence. “Hopefully this will be soon because I know they were eager to start as soon as possible,” added Emma.
“It’s just a matter of waiting now but without MCS on board I’m not sure the project would have materialised quite as quickly as it has.” Mark said: “It was great to meet Emma at the Expo and to have something slot together as quickly as this has is great. “We are Fust waiting to hear now from the car manufacturer about when the work might be able to take place.
“This only serves to show how useful the Made In network is and how important the Expo is to members. “We had six or seven łrm enquiries from the day and I’m more than happy with that.”
Excel has recently completed a relocation to new premises in Allerton Bywater. The new facilities have enabled the company to increase its manufacturing output as well as develop new products to improve the level of service to its customers. It has also seen it tackle more large-scale projects for the automotive and manufacturing industries.