Welshpool firm's £500K support

27/09/2010 @ 07:03

A Welshpool company has secured £500,000 investment from Finance Wales as part of its strategy to remain at the forefront of the automotive interior manufacturing industry.

Cobra UK, based on the town’s Buttington Cross Enterprise Park, has also landed a major new contract to supply parts to a leading motor manufacturer and is promising expansion and more jobs.

The money will be used to help the company meet the demands for a new order for vehicle interior load space covers and will position Cobra UK as one of Europe’s top interior trim producers.

“We have secured an annual order for 80,000 of our auto retracting soft touch loadspace covers from one of the world’s biggest motor manufacturers,” said Managing Director, Gary Seale.

“Finance Wales’ confidence in Cobra UK is a major boost and will ensure that we can maintain our position as a major supplier to the automotive interior sector. It will also help protect jobs and enable us to expand and re-position the business,” he added.

Commenting on the investment, Karen Davies, Investment Executive at Finance Wales, said: “Cobra UK has established a strong market position in the automotive sector through the development of a number of innovative components and technologies.

“Finance Wales’ investment will enable Cobra UK to commercialise its interior load space covers and provide it with capital to support its planned expansion into the aerospace market.”

Cobra UK is now actively seeking to recruit professionals in design, programme management and quality to meet the needs of the increased order book.

Turnover has doubled to £4million and the company now expects turnover to increase to more than £11million by next year.

Building on the company’s success in the automotive sector Cobra are now actively pursuing the integration of its automotive business into the aerospace sector to further enhance the brand and the company’s potential

“We can provide expeditious and cost effective engineering solutions and have brought a fresh outlook to the automotive high end interior trim sector.

“We have established our position in the automotive sector through our expertise in the area of lower costs and mass reduction.

“Cobra UK's objective is to provide superior products, utilising new engineering techniques and accelerating time to market without compromising the original design specifications.

“A team of highly dedicated and motivated engineers means that no project is too small or too large for the company.