Highest climber - Belcan International

Belcan International is a global supplier of solutions for engineering, manufacturing and supply chain, workforce, and government. It serves customers in the aerospace and defence, automotive, industrial, and public sectors.

Belcan is the highest climber in the Top 200 list this time, having risen an impressive 58 places to number 52.

Belcan’s UK headquarters are based in Derby, but it operates across 30 countries and has a network of over 10,000 professionals.

Since Belcan was bought by private equity investor, AE Industrial Partners, in 2015, the company has acquired at least 17 other firms and grown significantly. Its turnover increased by 120% in a year (Dec 2018-2019), which is why it is this year's highest climber in the Top 200 businesses in Derbyshire.

Investing in Derby

In May 2019, the company made a firm commitment to the city of Derby by expanding into a 6,000 sq. ft office space within the RTC Business Park — a centre of high-tech, rail and aerospace engineering businesses.

At the time, Tim Goodhead, Senior Vice President at Belcan, said:

“The move into our new UK HQ in Derby is a key milestone for us. Our new location places us closer to our customer base and main contractors, providing us with a springboard for growth in the region and beyond.

Derby is one of the UK’s most prestigious engineering hubs. As well as supporting our future growth, it will also ensure we continue to attract and retain the very best talent in the area.”

Recent activity

In early 2020, Belcan received the 2019 Rolls-Royce GBS Procurement Supplier of the Year Award — one of only two suppliers to receive this prestigious award. Rolls-Royce recognised the key achievements Belcan made in cost reduction, quality, and delivery excellence for the company throughout the year.

In the last two years, Belcan’s manufacturing and supply chain business unit has been particularly busy helping clients deal with issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic — as Dan Pleshko, President of Manufacturing and Supply Chain Solutions at Belcan, explains in this recent interview with Supply Chain World.

Digital innovation

Belcan has also recently been focusing on digital innovations that will add further value to the work it undertakes for customers. Its digital offerings include technology enabled resourcing, digital engineering and cyber security. To drive forward its digital strategy, the firm has now created a new role — Senior Vice President of Digital Solutions — and appointed Kim Harrington to it.