At age 29, Dominic Roach has already ticked off two big achievements on his to do list in the past year, having set up his own business as well as buying a house with his girlfriend. His company, Avant Manufacturing Ltd is located in Wisbech and produces precision engineering components for the pharmaceutical and scientific industries. The company has now grown to three full time employees in it was established in September 2021.
Prior to this, Dominic spent over ten years working for a local engineering company, initially as an apprentice, working his way up to managing several manufacturing suites and being awarded a range of qualifications, including an engineering degree, along the way. “The experience at the company was invaluable and I really enjoyed my job,” explained Dominic, “However, what started just as a thought that I could set up my own company, after a lot of research soon that transformed an opportunity that I knew I had to take action on.”
With a £25,000 Start Up Loan and his own savings, Dominic, with the support of his dad (also a businessman), located premises and was soon registering his new business with Companies House. Twelve months later, the company is turning a profit and orders are coming in thick and fast. Having two CNC Milling machines already, Dominic realised that he needed to get hold of a bigger machine to open up larger jobs and new markets for future growth.
It was at this point that he got in touch with the CPCA Growth Hub Start and Grow Programme, and following an introductory meeting with one of the team, he booked onto three workshops to help him work on his cashflow, business planning and how to apply for a grant available through the programme. Having successfully been awarded his grant, he is now waiting for the arrival of a new large CNC Milling machine – due on 1 December. “Whilst the amount of paperwork required for the application could seem overwhelming for some, as an engineering graduate, I was used to completing forms and collating the information needed, so it was a pretty straightforward process,” said Dominic. He also points out that in terms of pay back from the grant, the effort to complete the application was really minimal.
“The Growth Hub team were fantastic throughout the whole process, keeping me updated with progress and providing me with ideas and support for my new business,” Dominic stated.
The new machine will enable him to maintain his USP of a quick turnaround for his customers and will help with his growth plans for the business. The next key development will be launch of a new website for the business (coming soon to https://www.avantmanufacturing.co.uk)
You can follow the company on LinkedIn here.
