Cloud-Busting founder, Mel Archbould, has over 30 years of experience working for an engineering company supplying UK and global manufacturing industries.
We have experience working with a variety of businesses within the manufacturing and engineering sector. Our specialist areas to provide guidance, include; fabrication, machining, machinery design & build, powder handling, materials handling, controls (vacuum, pneumatic, electric, battery, PLC), ATEX environments, IOT & automation-transition, R&D, prototyping and health & safety. In addition, we can help advise on using R&D Tax credits to help fund innovation in the business.
So, what are the barriers to scaling from 50 employees and above? The drop-off rate is startling.
Research by Make UK issued in their 2022 Start-Up To Scale-Up Report, indicates small businesses find access to skills as the single biggest obstacle to scaling.
Followed by: –
- Access to Overseas Markets to grow the business
- Access to UK Markets to grow the business
- Physical space restrictions
- Access to finance to support growth whilst sustaining cash and profit
There is often also a lack of awareness amongst business leaders about:-
- How to scale-up
- Support and help available to scale-up
- How to improve productivity whilst scaling
- How to adopt digitalisation and new technologies to support scale-up
- How to reduce costs
- How to boost innovation and flexibility
- How to be more energy efficient
Cloud-Busting’s programmes to prepare for Scale-Up and support during Scale-Up are specifically designed for engineering and manufacturing businesses. Aiming to get the business leader to think differently and not focus on the way things were done, but on the way, things need to be done to scale.
In our research, we find the barriers to adopting of new technologies, such as additive manufacturing or robotics, for example, lies with the leadership and their lack of awareness and vision. However, these technologies along with digitalisation often reduce risk of relying upon employees who want to grow and develop yet are kept in the same roles and same functions because they are simply good at them. At some point, these A-Star players leave as the business is not in tune with their ambitions.
It is critical that MD’s and CEO’s of manufacturing business have a scale-up vision and a desire to see it through successfully. The alternative is running out of steam or motivation and settling back where the business has been for years.
Cloud-Busting supports the business leader in building this vision, articulating it and implementing it.
