Graphics firm saved with £1.25m rescue act

The Thirsk group, which employs more than 200 staff, has paid £1.25m for the firm to become the largest manufacturer of industrial graphics in Europe.

The deal is part of GSM's strategic growth plan which has seen it make seven acquisitions in the past seven years.

GSM manufactures labels, nameplates and fascias for a range of engineered products, including vehicles, cookers and telephones as well as providing complete sheet metal cases for the electronics industry.

British Industrial Graphics, of Witney, Oxfordshire, will now become known as GSM Industrial Graphics.

The firm's 28,000 sq ft manufacturing plant will become a centre of excellence for anodising and chemical etching.

The acquisition has already boosted employment at the site. GSM has already added five more jobs, taking the total employed there to 95.

The plant produces vehicle fascias and sill guards for companies such as Toyota, Jaguar, Honda, BMW, Rover and Land Rover.

It also produces more than two million component labels a year for Nissan's Sunderland car plant.

GSM Group chief executive Barry Dodd said: "The acquisition of British Industrial Graphics means we can offer a complete one-stop service to both the automotive and electronic sectors.

"With this acquisition, the GSM Group will serve almost every major car manufacturer in Europe."

He added: "The GSM Group has succeeded because it has a culture of dividing each factory into teams which operate as small businesses.

"This gives us exemplary cost control and such tightly run plants that our management methods have become the subject of three DTI Best Practice videos and a textbook on strategic management."

GSM plans to concentrate in the future on bringing the benefits of the disciplines it has introduced in the automotive sector to its customers in the electronics sector.

GSM has manufacturing sites in Thirsk, Wetherby, Brecon and Luton.

The group has more than 2,000 customers in 14 countries across the world.