A specialist design consultancy has moved into its own premises and expanded its workforce after receiving support from the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub.
Astheimer was launched in 2009 by founder and creative director Carsten Astheimer from a converted garage at his family home in Claverdon, near Warwick.
The company focuses on the automotive, marine, furniture, high-tech products and consumer electronics sectors and their clients include household names Ferrari, Caterpillar, 3M and Unilever.
Consistent growth has led to the business moving into new 400sqm premises at St George’s Business Park in Lower Cape, Warwick, after receiving help in their search from the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub.
Two new employees, designer Sina Rahmani and design engineer Alex Stewart, have been recruited to take the workforce to eight and intern Jong Bae will be joining in April along with a designer and marketing executive in the summer.
Carsten said moving into the new premises had enabled him to create the ideal creative environment of space and light, with a workshop where the ideas come to life.
“We benchmark ourselves against the best design studios and in-house design studios around the world because of the quality of our work from research to creativity since we are continually pushing boundaries to look for innovation” he said.
“We have a multi-discipline, multi-cultural team where everyone contributes something different to every project we do and as we work in a multitude of sectors, we have a fresh approach to each project we do.
“Finally, we have a studio where all our designers are based, meeting rooms to invite clients and a workshop where we can develop ideas and final prototypes in-house.”
“We met Jaymie Thakordas at a networking event and her input in our search to find the perfect premises was invaluable as well as filling in the forms to apply for a £20,000 grant from Coventry City Council which proved successful.”
Carsten, who is also a visiting lecturer at Coventry University and adviser to its automotive and transport design course, added: “Astheimer also do one-off projects for high net-worth individuals involving sculptures and urban art projects.
“We are also in the process of setting up three different companies – British Design Shop for online furniture, Salt Furniture aimed at the high-end market and Marine Futures which will sell boats with zero emissions.
“We are delighted with our move. The size of the unit is perfect for us and I love having a workshop for the first time where we can work on different ideas.”
Jaymie Thakordas, an account manager at Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub, said it can be daunting deciding to move from working from home to buying or renting business premises.
“Astheimer is a fantastic business which has an impressive array of clients in various sectors and this move to St George’s Business Park means they have been able to expand their services from concept development to final prototyping as well as increase their staff numbers,” she said.
“The Growth Hub is here to help entrepreneurs find a unit which is perfect for their business as well as give guidance on funding opportunities.
“I have no doubt Astheimer will continue to flourish in an exciting industry because of their innovative approach.”