An established South Yorkshire pneumatics firm that has almost doubled its turnover in the last five years is set to expand further thanks to a £30,000 cash investment.
Sheffield-based Air Accessories, which has been trading for more than 40 years, has received a Business Loan from Finance Yorkshire to help grow its product range, increase manufacture, employ more staff and improve its presence online by updating its website.
Under the leadership of Nick McKee, who purchased the family business in 2008, the company has become the UK’s only manufacturer of bespoke Bosch non-standard pneumatic cylinders and is today the UK’s largest independent distributor of Bosch Rexroth pneumatics.
In the space of five years he has taken Air Accessories, which employs nine members of staff, from a turnover of £600,000 to almost £1m – despite the global recession.
Nick, who has received funding from Finance Yorkshire before, said: “Even when you run a successful company like ours it is very difficult to get gap funding, which is essential if we are to keep up with demand.
“This is where Finance Yorkshire comes in. They make a difference by investing in companies enabling them to develop and expand, creating opportunities for additional jobs in Yorkshire.”
Air Accessories supplies the steel, automotive, education and pharmaceutical industries, with blue chip companies such as Bentley, British Aerospace and Boeing among its client base.
It was established by Jack Bushby in 1967, and has been trading from the present address at Escafeld Works, Meersbrook Park Road, since 1980.
Melanie Reynolds, a Portfolio Executive at Finance Yorkshire’s Business Loan team, said: “Finance Yorkshire has been working alongside Air Accessories since 2008 during which time we have seen them experience some very strong growth, and overcome a global recession.
“This is a strong example of an ambitious and well-run Yorkshire business who we want to see succeed.”
To date Finance Yorkshire has made 594 investments totalling £73.5 million.
Finance Yorkshire provides seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to meet their funding requirements for growth and development.
The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted £30million investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme, £15million from UK Government and £45million match funding from the European Investment Bank.
