Regent Engineering, a leading supplier of pressed metal components and assemblies celebrating its 70th year of trading, is diversifying into new markets including the renewable energy industry.
The company was founded in 1941 by Arthur Shaw, principally to supply tool making and general engineering services to businesses in the Midlands. The firm grew steadily over the years, later adding an extensive presswork and welded assembly capability. In 1982 it moved to its current site in Darlaston, where it currently employs 40 people, and has remained in the ownership of the Shaw family to this day.
“We are very proud of our heritage but we are looking ahead not back,” said managing director Alan Shaw.
“Having survived the last recession, the third in the company’s history, we developed a business plan not just to get us back to where we were before the downturn, but to put us in an even stronger position for the future.
“While we have enjoyed great success in our traditional markets, we also recognised that many of these markets were reaching maturity. So we started to seek out new opportunities and the green sector was an obvious place to look.”
Regent Green Engineering Ltd was launched in April this year after the company formed an alliance with VM Edelstahltechnik, a designer and manufacturer of solar PV (photo-voltaic) installation systems based in Germany.
Through this new venture, Regent supplies a range of standard and custom-made installation kits to electricians and roofing contractors installing solar PV panels for domestic, industrial and agricultural customers. Its biggest order to date has been for a solar farm consisting of 540 separate panels.
Regent says it is keen to take advantage of any other potential opportunities that may emerge in the renewable energy market. Meanwhile, it aims to strengthen its own green credentials by working towards the environmental standard EN 14000, which it hopes to achieve within the next 12 months.
Another new product range launched by the company this year is Regent FloorStak, a height-adjustable floor support system for the event structures industry. The system has been designed to be simple to assemble, yet highly secure, and is ideally suited for supporting temporary “cassette-type” floors used for all kinds of events from weddings to major sporting occasions.
Regent FloorStak can ensure a level surface in uneven and sloping ground conditions up to a maximum elevation of 600mm. It can also be used to construct steps to elevated floor levels and sloping ramps to allow wheelchair access.
“Both Regent Green Engineering Ltd and Regent FloorStak have received excellent feedback from customers since they were launched,” added Alan Shaw.
“These ventures show how we can diversify. By combining our experience with our flexibility to adapt to new markets, we are able to develop innovative engineering solutions for customers.
“We have a first-class, dedicated workforce who can take a concept from when it’s merely a twinkling in the client’s eye and see it through to the finished, market-ready product or component. I think that’s a very convincing package we can offer customers.”