Dragon takes flight in Warwickshire with business programme support
Jobs are being created and local engineering skills exploited after automotive inspection company Dragon Solutions expanded into Warwickshire with business support from Warwickshire County Council and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Dragon Solutions was formed in 2003 by Craig Harding and Gerald Woosnam who, having been made redundant from their engineering jobs at a mid-Wales foundry, backed their own skills and contacts to start the business.
It has thrived - and while its headquarters remains in Wales, servicing its prime customer, the Ford plant in Bridgend, the time came when, to meet the demands of further growth, another base was necessary.
So Dragon Solutions has now opened premises at the MIRA Technology Park in Nuneaton from which to fulfil the huge potential presented by the West Midlands automotive sector and other associated sectors.
When they began the search for suitable premises, Craig and Gerald spoke to Steph Williams, a business support advisor at Warwickshire County Council. Steph alerted them to MIRA Technology Park and also helped them to access a £25,000 European Regional Development Fund Investment Grant through the Coventry & Warwickshire Business Support Programme.
That grant will help equip the new base which is up and running. The Dragon has now spread its wings to the Midlands, servicing contracts with major local businesses including Jaguar Land Rover.
"It is the perfect location for us," said Gerald. "We are very well established in south Wales but in recent years have received an increasing number of inquiries from the Midlands only to be unable to advance them because we haven't had a presence here. Now we have that presence.
"Steph was fantastic in helping us to liaise with MIRA. She has fantastic knowledge of the sector locally and also helped us access the grant which will enable us to pursue our growth plans and increasing our Midlands-based customers which already include JLR, Mahle, Sertec Group Ltd, MGI Coutier and Eaton.
"We employ 14 full-time and agency staff at our Wales HQ and hope to be employing the same number in Warwickshire within a year. The support and advice we received from Steph and Warwickshire County Council was invaluable towards making that happen."
Steph is delighted to have helped bring another proactive and forward-thinking small business to Warwickshire.
"Dragon Solutions and the MIRA Technology Park are a perfect fit," she said. "It is great news that businesses of the calibre of Dragon Solutions are bringing their expertise to Warwickshire, building the supply chain further, thereby creating jobs and adding to the already buoyant automotive sector in the region."
If you would like more information about the county council's business support programme, please visit https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/business
* The Coventry and Warwickshire Business Support Programme assists Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 250 employees. Such SMEs are encouraged to apply for the fund (managed by Coventry City Council), in particular companies looking to invest in capital assets, for example, machinery or equipment, hardware/software, refurbishment, or purchase of new premises, which can benefit from up to 30% of grant to cover the costs of the investment.
* Warwickshire County Council's Invest in Warwickshire Team is part-funded by the ERDF as part of the Coventry and Warwickshire Business Support Programme.