Bowers and Jones Ltd are based in Bilston area of Wolverhampton, and have been making roll tooling and equipment for the metal rolling industry in the Black Country for almost 70 years.
The company currently employ 16 staff who offer a complete in-house service provided by their experienced engineers, including technical advice to optimise customers production processes. This together with continuous investment in machinery and software, has built Bowers and Jones into a Centre of Excellence for design manufacture and the worldwide distribution of rolls and rolling equipment for a wide range of sizes and applications. The company has been on a growth trajectory and has a turnover of over £4M
The business was set up in the mid 1950’s and the managing director is Jane Sommerville.
Jane has worked in the steel industry for over 30 years, has a BEng Hons in Mechanical Engineering and a Warwick Business School MBA. She joined the business in 2012 when the company was owned by a German Group and has managed the purchase and sale of the business 3 times since then, ending with a successful MBO with her fellow directors in 2020.
The company exports over 70% of sales, with more than half of this being into the EU the other half going to North America. They specialise in high value, high performance products and have a very loyal customer base who rely on quality, experience, and technical abilities to "Keep Mills Rolling".
The company has been working with Wolverhampton Council for a number of years and in 2022 the business invested in a new CUT E 600 Wire Eroding Machine. allowing them to cut complex shapes from a variety steel grades, to improve their productivity and reliability, thus reducing lead times to begin delivery of a new growth plan.
Most recently the company have benefitted from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) securing a £50,000 grant toward a £400,000 investment in a new Doosan Vertical Lathe. The company again worked with adviser support from Wolverhampton Councils business growth team and Business Growth West Midlands to develop a robust business case to secure the grant. Commenting, MD Jane Sommerville said, “We want to expand further, and the new machine will provide capacity for bidding for high value, high quality products for very special applications in the metal forming and rolling contracts in the UK and overseas. It will reduce business lead times by alleviating a bottleneck the company currently has in this product range.