Business is booming for St Helens-based Automation Products and Systems Ltd (APS) following support from St Helens Chamber and St.Helens Council.
Automation Products and Systems manufacture machine control systems, specialising in system design, panel build, design software, and turnkey solutions.
The company received help from the Chamber through the St Helens Council funded Business Support initiative providing marketing support, tools and equipment, following financial planning support from St Helens Chamber.
Derek Clark, Design Engineer at Automation Products and Systems Ltd, said: “As a result of the Business Support we’ve just won the biggest contract we’ve ever had. The marketing support helped us raise our profile online which will hopefully lead to yet more new business.
“We definitely wouldn’t have pursued the marketing project if we hadn’t had the help from the Chamber. As the business has gained more exposure we can now bid for bigger contracts, and the resultant investment in new equipment has helped us provide a better service for customers. We’re going forward in 2017 very confidently.”
John Woods, Investment Readiness Adviser at St Helens Chamber, said: “We’re delighted to have supported Automation Products and Systems Ltd. As a result of the help we provided they’re busy fulfilling bigger contracts and we look forward to seeing them grow and take on more staff in the coming months.”
Derek added: “The entire experience has been very positive for us. Without John’s help and advice we wouldn’t have been able to achieve so much so quickly. It has had a huge impact on the business and we’re now in a position where we’ll need to hire more staff to fulfil demand for our products.”
Councillor John Fulham, St.Helens Council’s Cabinet Member for Growth, said: “It’s great to hear that APS are feeling confident about their future, thanks to investment and support from St Helens Council and St Helens Chamber.
“APS are poised to secure further big contracts and create skilled employment opportunities for local people – thereby growing the local economy. We wish them every success.”
St Helens Chamber offers free, confidential support to help make businesses more resilient, set growth targets and plan forecasts. Businesses can also receive advice while applying for finance or loans from banks or other sources of funding with the aim of making investment more likely.
For more information on Business Financial Planning Support please contact John Woods on 01744 742058 or visit www.sthelenschamber.com/financialplanning
