A rare tale of success

AN Oldham business enjoying success in the engineering field is a rarity these days, but that’s the tale of Transdrive Engineering Services Ltd.

Founded 27 years ago in Atkinson Street, Chadderton, the company has invested £500,000 in a relocation to 7,500 sq ft premises in Milton Street, Royton.

It has decamped its cramped premises in Moss Lane, Heyside, for a bright new future — elevating the outlook for the 13 staff and upping the profile of this increasingly global business.

On the day I visited its new offices the management team of director Paul Wren, a Chorley man who is the brother of founder Nick, a Greenfield man who now spends only two days as a consultant, sales manager Danny Plant and sales office manager Matthew Wren, both from Greenfield, they were still basking in the glow of lucrative order from Holland.

The increasingly universal appeal of the company’s offer fuelled its ambition to move into the new premises which it purchased and, using labour from the immediate area, transformed into a modern environment for a business that is clearly going places.

Transdrive, which traces its roots to 1984 when Nick as made redundant, distributes motors, gearboxes and drives to a host of customers in the UK and Europe.

“We are long-removed from the days of pulleys and belts,” says Paul, himself an engineer who still works with the technical team to design solutions for customers.

He adds: “Our end-users are a range of businesses which have one thing in common — they need power.

“They come to us with an application and we put together a solution which we then deliver.”

Transdrive sources power units and gearboxes from manufacturers all over the globe, some from France, Poland and Italy but increasingly from the Pacific Rim.

Thanks to an investment in a high-quality website, training and, now the move to Royton, the firm enjoyed growth of 23 per cent last year and in the current financial year, which runs from October, is on target for a further 25 per cent growth.

Mr Plant said: “For many years we rode the wave of the economy, doing well when the economy was running hot and servicing customers within a 50-60 mile radius of our hub in Moss Lane.

“For many years we did not need to look further afield, we had enough customers in industrialised Lancashire.

“Those days are gone and he have had to invest in our marketing and training to continue to grow our business.”

Success has been achieved with 20 per cent of turnover — running at £2.3 million — generated by exports.

“It’s a fairytale really,” says Paul, concluding: “We are essentially a family business, there are only 13 of us, but we work hard and deliver innovative solutions to industry by being technically good and giving our customers exactly what they want, cost-effective solutions.”