"Not Stuck for Ideas"
presented by Bob Adams
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Bob Adams is co-founder of the
local adhesives manufacturing company,
Beardow & Adams (Adhesives) Limited, which he started with his
partner, Len Beardow in 1977.
Bob's story, which he presented to
a breakfast meeting of the MKGU club in November 2004, mirrors the
growth of the new city of Milton Keynes. Their business was created
before the shopping centre had been opened and the road network was not
as it is today.
Their first factory was located in
Mount Farm, Bletchley and consisted of 1,700 square feet of
manufacturing space. Bob was the more technical partner having had a
background in industrial adhesives in the laboratory and Len had the
sales background. At the time, Bob was just 27 years old and Len was the
more senior at 55.
The company grew through the 1980s
and moved to new premises at Bradville where it is still located.
Investment in new plant is of the order of half a million pounds a year
and the company now employs 65 staff, all recruited locally. |
Vice-President of MKGU, Andrew Farady
(left) with Bob Adams
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Turnover is now £20 million per year and
the amount of hot melt adhesive produced is 16,000 tons a year. Many household
names use the product in their packaging and one of the largest is Kellogs for
whom Bob's company supplies all of their European needs. Over 70% of the
Bradville production is for export and this is sold to over 80 countries through
a network of dealers and partners.
Senior founder, Len Beardow, retired from
the business 16 years ago and the private company is now jointly owned by Bob
and Len's son. Research and Development is extremely important to the company as
new products for the food industry are continually being developed. Other users
of the adhesive range are the automotive industry, furniture assemblers and
bookbinders for gluing the spines of paperback books.
In 1994 the company received the Queen's
Award for Export and Bob was very pleased to have received the award from Her
Majesty at Buckingham Palace. The Award was achieved again in 1999 and in 2002
the Queen's Award for Innovation was won. The latter was for developing a low
odour product for the food industry.
This year the company acquired the
controlling interest in an adhesive manufacturing company in Barcelona and the
culture shock has been quite a challenge for Bob and his team. Working practices
and the language barrier are an issue that Bob is addressing and he now has to
make at least fortnightly visits to Spain. Not daunted by this acquisition, more
equipment will be installed at Bradville next year and the company will expand
into additional premises.
Bob's story is certainly one of the
successes of Milton Keynes and the club wished him well for the future. Members'
questions covered such issues as the comparison between Health and Safety
implementation in the UK and Spain, packaging issues that affect the elderly,
and motivational forces that drive the ambition to continue an already
successful enterprise.
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