NORTH-EAST company Advanced Coating Initiative (ACI) is targeting further strong turnover growth after a move to larger premises.
The coatings specialist, formed in 2004 through a management buyout of part of engine repair and overhaul specialist Rolls Wood Group, said yesterday it anticipated annual turnover for its core business to hit £2million within a year.
ACI currently turns over about £1.5million annually.
The relocation to East Tullos, in Aberdeen, during the second half of 2009 gave ACI three times more space – about 7,000 square feet – as it had before at Badentoy, Portlethen.
Last year, ACI launched a division dedicated to the delivery to market of Inner Armor technology aimed at extending the life span of components operating in harsh conditions.
ACI’s InnerArmor unit is still based at Badentoy, but there are plans to also relocate it to East Tullos.
The ACI workforce has grown to 16 after the recent recruitment of an engineering manager.
Operations director Simon Cheyne said the company was looking to possibly take on up to a further four people this year.
The firm’s five-year business plan includes an annual turnover target of £4million by 2013. Mr Cheyne said the hard work had already been done to prepare the business for a better economic climate after the recession, adding: “Having invested almost £300,000 in the relocation, through new plant and equipment, we are now trying to move forward.”
Most of ACI’s customers are in the oil and gas sector, but the firm sees potential for specialist coating sales in the aerospace and renewable-energy industries.