Plymouth based precision engineering business, P.E.G Precision, will be celebrating its twenty third year in business and a move to new and enlarged premises with the help of funding from NatWest.
The move to the premises on Langage Industrial Estate sees the business, which designs and makes bespoke equipment ranging from weapons spares and unique parts for super yachts to oil industry exploration equipment to name just a few, move out of the site which has been its home since Malcolm Ross formed the company in 1986 – namely Malcolm’s back garden! The move also sees Malcolm’s stepson, John Bailey, stepping up to become a Director and General Manager of the firm, ensuring the continuation of the family business twenty two years after he joined Malcolm as an apprentice. He will be joined by fellow newly appointed director Paul Furneaux, who like John has been with the firm for twenty two years serving his apprenticeship and now becoming Quality Manager. The team of fourteen staff will also be helped in their new home by new state of the art machinery which is being funded by NatWest’s fellow RBS Group business Lombard after P.E.G Precision’s NatWest Business Manager Mark James made the introduction.
The latest leap for the business marks the culmination of a dream and a step into semi-retirement for founder Malcolm Ross. As a small boy he loved making things, taking them apart and putting them back together again and so joining a firm as a trainee instrument maker when he left school was a natural move. However, his over great love was the sea and soon the call of it became too strong and he left his job to join the navy. However, he still remembers looking back when he walked out of the factory gates on his last day and thinking – "I’ll own a company like that one day". Time with the navy saw him serving on vessels including HMS Belfast whilst also pursuing his love of engineering, but in the end marriage and a family brought him back to land in Plymouth., working for a local firm. His 'tinkering' continued though and a request from a neighbour to help repair his car quickly grew into more requests and led to Malcolm starting his own garage and later an engine and gearbox reconditioning business. His reputation for making things continued to grow – this is the man who built an aeroplane from scratch in his back garden which is still happily flying around Norwich today! – with local businesses asking him to design and make various gadgets. So in 1986 Malcolm decided to put in place the promise he made to himself when he walked out of the factory all those years ago and he started P.E.G Precision in his back garden from the workshop he built to house the plane he made. Since then the business has gone from strength to strength but always adhering to Malcolm’s philosophy that quality is everything and near enough is simply not good enough. Every item made is 100% inspected before it leaves and every customer big or small receives the same high quality service. The success of this philosophy was clearly demonstrated in 1990 when PEG Precision became the smallest company in the world to achieve the new BS5750 Quality Management Award. Now the chance to move the business to the next level with the purchase of the Langage unit four times the size of the one in Malcolm’s back garden, marks the perfect opportunity for Malcolm to start handing over the reins and return once again to the sea – he has purchased a small boat which is already being adapted with lots of home made gadgets!
Commenting on the latest advancement for the business Malcolm Ross said: "It's fantastic to be able to celebrate PEG Precision’s twenty third year by moving into enlarged and dedicated premises. It’s a natural step in the development and continuation of the business and will allow John and Paul to take things to the next level as well as giving my wife our garden back! I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me along the way, including my family and friends for all their support and, of course, our loyal customers and staff. I’d also particularly like to thank Mark James, our NatWest Business Manager, for all his advice and support and for helping us secure the all important funding, not only for the new premises but also for the new machinery. Without his help the purchases just wouldn’t have been possible."
Mark James, the business’ NatWest Business Manager, continued: “I’m thrilled that Malcolm and his team are doing so well and that NatWest has been able to help make their dream of expanding the business into new premises become a reality. It’s an added bonus that my colleague Julie from Lombard has been able to help them out with the new machinery to really get their move off to a flying start. Malcolm and his team have put a lot of time and energy into continuously developing this business and have sensibly taken advantage of all the help and advice available to them. It’s great to see all their hard work paying off and they are a great example that local businesses are still thriving and that NatWest is still very much open for business and as committed as ever to providing funding and helping small business dreams come true."
NatWest is fully committed to helping small businesses in the current climate and has launched a Regional Fund to make an additional £250 million of funding available to SMEs in the South West in 2009. NatWest has also led the way with its pledge not to increase pricing on committed overdrafts, until at least the end of 2009. Unlike other providers, all NatWest’s agreed overdrafts will stay in place for 12 months from the date they are agreed and are not repayable on demand. For those businesses facing heightened financial pressures, the Bank has also put in place an experienced team of 500 Managers to offer them more intensive support.
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For further information please contact
Suzanne Turnbull
NatWest Media Relations Manager
Tel: 07799 408998
