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Blog by Tiffany Bate

Port Talbot electronics firm on target to achieve £1M turnover

A Port Talbot-based electronics design house and solutions provider is on target to almost double its turnover this year to £1M.

Quantum CAD is bucking the current economic down turn and has grown by 80% over the last two years. The company is currently recruiting 5 new engineers has expanded its premises to include 2 new offices for design and an engineering laboratory in Wales and invested £150K in new equipment, as well as opening a new office in England.

The firm has also attracted major new clients including Rolls Royce, Bosch and QinetiQ and is looking to further expand into new markets in Germany, Denmark, Holland and other parts of Europe.

The company provides electronic and printed circuit board (PCB) services for almost any type of electronic product. Its clients are drawn from various sectors including medical, telecommunications, automotive, aerospace, and defence.

Steve Jones chief executive, Quantum CAD, said the company’s success is due in large part to achieving Investors in People (IiP) status. 

Investors in People, which is administered in Wales by the Welsh Assembly Government, is an independent audit of a business with advice on how to enhance performance and processes through individuals. It is a rigorous process but one which helps businesses and organisations to improve.

Said Mr Jones: “One of our most important assets is our people. They’re highly trained, skilled and knowledgeable individuals. Investing in developing them makes good business sense. It shows we value them and that feel-good factor impacts positively throughout the business.

“Achieving IiP has benefitted the company in many ways. For example, through training and team building activities, employees have learnt new skills which have boosted their confidence and morale. Consequently staff turnover is very low. 

“Training is a crucial part of our strategy to grow the business and help us remain at the forefront of our sector. Our ultimate aim is to become a centre of excellence for the electronics industry. IiP has helped us raise the profile of the company, attract new quality staff and enhance our credibility with customers and competitors,” he added.

Welsh Assembly accredited consultant Carmel Gahan, advised the company on their IIP Award, she said: “Quantum is a great example of what a quality standard such as IiP can do for a business. It can improve its performance through investment in staff and as a result Quantum is going from strength to strength.”

She added: “Investors in People recognition is not easy to attain, but the benefits gained from working towards this standard are enormous. The standard has made a big difference to the success and prosperity of many employers in Wales and is one of the most respected benchmarks of excellence in business.”

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Looking For a Few Good Engineers

Michael Feldman the editor of HPC wire recently wrote an article on his blog about the the problems the US, UK and Japan are having in regards to finding qualified engineers. According to a recent New York Times article, younger Japanese are opting out of science and technology careers, and like their American counterparts, are choosing more lucrative fields, like finance, marketing, or medicine.

In the UK we seem to be having the same problem. A recent article from The Independent describes an engineering "crisis" that is threatening UK technology competitiveness. Richard Lambert, the director general of the CBI (Confederation of British Industry ), said that UK companies are struggling to recruit enough engineers to meet local business demands.

The number of engineering students has continued to fall year on year, with a 45 per cent decline in numbers of electrical engineering students between 2001 and 2006.

Richard Lambert estimates that about three-quarters of UK engineering firms expect a shortfall in recruitment this year, and will be forced to recruit internationally.

At Quantum we are trying to combat this problem. Over the recent years we have taken on several undergraduates who considered an electronics degree as one of the options. They have an opportunity to get an insight into the electronics industry and be involved in interesting projects which often helps them to make a decision to become a qualified PCB/electronics designer.