Four years after it was rescued from administration, UK supplier of niche products to selfadhesive label, ticket and tag producers Smith & McLaurin has announced a share restructuring deal that spreads ownership more widely across its management team. The restructuring of Kilbarchan based company will pave the way for implementation of a new five-year business plan.
The deal, “worth a seven-figure sum”, has been made possible by funding from the Clydesdale Bank, which has provided facilities totaling £6M to the company.
Managing director Colin Gault is supported by operations director Colin Loudon, sales director Craig Monks, chairman Ian Mackay, and non executive director Allan McLaughlin. Former majority shareholder Ian Mackay has released shares to allow the management to increase their stake in the company. In the four years since his arrival – with the firm overhauled under a ‘back to basics’ campaign implemented by Colin Gault – the company has increased turnover by 46 per cent, from £12M to £17.6M, raising export sales from 30 per cent to 40 per cent in the same period.
The employees are said to have been key to the transformation, which involved revising working practices, simplifying manufacturing processes, investing in staff training and bolstering a depleted sales team. These improvements have increased capacity by 30 per cent and saved the company upwards of £100,000 in material yield within the last financial year. Customer lead times have contracted from weeks to days, “and even hours in some instances”, it is claimed.
Colin Gault says: “It’s been a fantastic year for the business and the performance is testament to the response we received from the workforce. The growth of our export business has been hugely encouraging. Our share of the UK market stands at approximately four per cent, so there’s lots of room for profitable growth here and that’s why the management were keen to increase their investment as we continue to take the firm forward over the next few years.”
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