Securing more than £30m of new orders in defence, energy and aerospace is helping one of Bridgnorth’s largest employers bounce back from a tough trading period.
Grainger & Worrall, which received the King’s Award for Innovation in 2025, is utilising is technical expertise and proven production capability in complex aluminium sand casting to win work with customers manufacturing light aircraft engines, specialist vehicle transmissions and data centre applications.
Located across dedicated facilities on Stanmore Industrial Estate, the company’s diversification strategy is paying off after it was put into place eighteen months ago to combat dropping volumes and a reduction in new projects in its core automotive business – a drop fuelled by global uncertainty and a slower pick-up in electric vehicles.
The senior management team is looking to capitalise on this recent upturn by signing off a £1m investment programme and completing a recruitment drive for 30 new staff across its manufacturing, maintenance and quality departments.
“It’s fair to say we’ve had a difficult time in recent years, with a depressed automotive sector, combined with the impact of Trump’s tariffs, extortionately high energy costs and NIC and minimum wage increases, creating an extremely tough trading environment,” explained Duncan Eldridge, CEO of Grainger & Worrall.
“Well, I’m pleased to say that our transition into new markets – complemented by an ongoing commitment to automotive – has turned things around and given us a robust foundation to grow again.”
He continued: “We have deep capabilities born from experience and investment in metallurgical science, computer modelling, digital sand printing and laser metrology, which means we move very fast to make prototypes (sometimes within 48 hours) and can work on multi-year development programmes and then series production.
“These attributes are very well suited for clients in defence, aerospace and energy and this has been reflected in the £30m of orders we have secured in the first six months of the year. This is just the start and we’re expecting further ‘wins’ between now and the end of 2026.”
Grainger & Worrall has been delivering full-process precision casting solutions for more than 70 years.
Employing over 450 people, it provides global clients across five continents with access to design consultancy, prototyping, machining and validation, supporting the move from early-stage concept to scaling volume production.
A recent refinancing agreement has given the business the financial backing to capitalise on its successful entry into aerospace, defence and energy, with potential to also tap into new opportunities in motorsport.
Duncan went on to add: “This is a really important deal for us, providing stability, working capital for growth and the immediate ability to invest in state-of-the-art equipment that supports winning new prototype and low volume orders.
“Our expansive factory has been reorganised to improve productivity and boost capacity and we’ve got a structured personal development and recruitment plan in place to attract and retain the very best talent.”
He concluded: “The first investment push has been signed off and we’ll shortly start upgrading our digital sand printing technology. I can’t say too much on this at the moment, but this will be a massive differentiator going forward.”
For further information, please visit www.gwcast.com or follow the company across its social media channels.
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