Who? You may ask. Clevedon is quite a well kept manufacturing secret that goes against the usually accepted wisdom that British owned fastener manufacturing in the UK is dead.
Next time you look in your rear view mirror, the chances are that the truck behind you has Clevedon rivets holding vital parts of its braking system and body parts together. When you get home and open your double glazed doors or windows, Clevedon rivets are probably holding them together as well. Clevedon supplies fasteners to all kinds of industries both in the UK and worldwide.
Based in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, Clevedon manufactures 22 million parts per month; mainly solid, semi tubular and fully tubular rivets, plus a significant number of specialist cold forged components. The company has successfully weathered numerous downturns, recessions and every other economic and regulatory malady that has been thrown at UK manufacturing. Not only is it still here and thriving, but Clevedon’s largest export market, wait for it, is the Far East.
Steve Hardeman, Clevedon’s managing director, attributes the company’s survival to its hardworking work force and a sales ethos that demands that any prospective customer is seen face-to-face, no matter where they are in the world.
Clevedon Fasteners began manufacturing in Clevedon Street, Birmingham, in 1939, supplying the Spitfire factories in Castle Bromwich with aircraft rivets. It went through numerous ownership changes – small groups, mini conglomerates, whatever was the prevailing trend at the time.
In 2000, the present management team of Steve Hardeman and Charles Hopkins took the opportunity to buy the company, backed by Langham Industries – a privately owned group mainly involved in engineering and marine services.
In 2001, following the 9/11 attacks, British Aerospace closed part of its Regional Jetliner business. This resulted in Clevedon’s turnover reducing by one third. With the help of the government’s ‘Passport to Export’ scheme, Clevedon went to its first exhibition – at Automechanika in Frankfurt. The reaction from potential overseas customers was overwhelming. In the space of three months the shortfall was replaced. Clevedon now supplies 47 countries and exports account for 29% of turnover.
“Exports saved the day,” comments Steve Hardeman. “I had believed the hype that UK manufacturing companies were lame ducks as far as the rest of the world is concerned. It was refreshing to find this was not the case: UK manufactured parts are highly regarded globally. If a UK based rivet maker can make a success of exporting, any British company can.”
Recognising the need to balance the company following the 2008 recession, Clevtec was created as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2010. Clevtec is a distributor specialising in niche areas such as commercial vehicle brake shoes, rivet setting machinery and tooling – as well as fasteners that Clevedon does not make, such as rivet nuts and clinch nuts.
“Our product range is constantly evolving,” says Karl Love, Clevtec’s general manager. “We are currently working on a number of customer specific products and services, which will lead to significant, rapid growth over the next 12 months.”
Karl is also general manager of Clevedon’s latest acquisition, Blakeacre. Clevedon purchased Blakeacre Ltd in 2013 in order to consolidate its UK manufacturing base. Blakeacre manufactures mainly threaded products from its factory in Great Barr, Birmingham. Whereas Clevedon makes to order, and sell predominantly to the OEM market, Blakeacre has a well developed product range of threaded fasteners, which it sells from stock, predominantly to the distributor trade.
“The Blakeacre range of clinch studs, capacitor discharge and weld studs, cup square, spline and silo bolts, and Bolt Lok products are well known in the UK but the plan is to develop the export market for these products in a similar way to Clevedon.”
Clevedon/Clevtec and Blakeacre’s long-term planning and development of niche marketing opportunities certainly look set to ensure they will be around for years to come.
Having spent a decade in the fastener industry experiencing every facet – from steel mills, fastener manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, as well as machinery builders and plating + coating companies, Claire has developed an in-depth knowledge of all things fasteners.
Alongside visiting numerous companies, exhibitions and conferences around the world, Claire has also interviewed high profile figures – focusing on key topics impacting the sector and making sure readers stay up to date with the latest developments within the industry.
