A not-so traditional metal basher is raising a glass to the leisure sector supplying stainless steel furniture for hotels including the Hilton chain.
The marble flooring, shattered glass ceilings,spectacular wooden columns and three-tonne chandelier for the exclusive five star Hilton Cardiff Hotel were all hand crafted in South Wales but the most eye-catching feature without doubt are the.ballroom doors, made of polished stainless steel with an embossed finish that were fitted by Customised Sheet Metal.

DESPITE operating in landlocked
Basildon painting firm
LJR has stayed well afloat in
the leisure boat industry.
And forget the gloomy economic
forecast too …the small Essex
company, which employs just five
people, has a solid order book
supplying high gloss interiors for
luxury cruisers that can cost
between two and £14 million.
LJR specialises in high gloss. LJR specialises in high gloss
polyester finishes which form one

A Dorset engineering firm have secured a raft of new business after dipping their toes in new waters to feed future growth.
Iracroft are renowned for supplying the major OEMs of earth moving and agricultural equipment with rigid tube assemblies for high-pressure hydraulic pneumatic and coolant applications.
Last year the 220-strong company based at Blandford Forum took a new route into the gas treatment and marine industries working
in stainless steel; something not done before but it’s been a remarkable success story.....

STEEL glazing specialist Multi
Firescreens Systems has won
recognition for the way they protect
buildings against fire.
The Hayling Island-based firm
has achieved accreditation under
the Warrington Fire Research
FIRAS framework – a national
standard seal of approval – that
ensures installers use only appropriate
steel framed and fire resistant

“I liked it so much, I bought the
company," was what made
Victor Kiam and Remington
shavers famous in 1979
…Dave Stephens, who bought
the company he liked two
years ago, is at the centre of
Newquay’s multi million pound
regeneration.
Despite the credit crunch, land in
this Cornish resort can exchange
hands for £10 million an acre as it
rebuilds itself with new luxury
flats, restaurants and shops.

CHRIS Lawton, Managing
Director of Oakleigh Engineering summed it up in
one sentence: “We are one
of the quiet little businesses
just getting on with
things."
Yet it is this approach of “just
getting on with things” that has
helped make the Burntwoodbased
firm a Midlands success
story.

BRITISH Superbikes attracts the best riders, brilliant technical brains, some big name sponsorship. Then there are
the mechanics, like James Walker.
At 46, he’s at the top of the
tree. Riders tell him what their
bike is doing and he’ll inevitably
make it perform better.
BDK Race Engineering just outside
Norwich was started in 1987
by James who raced competitively
for 10 years .....

The Sixties Mini re-wrote the rules about car design. The Cooper twice won the Monte Carlo Rally, the oldest rally in the world, and four decades on one Lincoln firm has become an important force in developing the A-series engine for more competition success in the British championships.
These engines are tuned to deliver far more horsepower than standard and the near bespoke nature of the engines Mike Barratt builds shows that his company is far nearer to the motor sport sector than to mainstream automotive.

“I liked it so much, I bought the
company," was what made
Victor Kiam and Remington
shavers famous in 1979
…Dave Stephens, who bought
the company he liked two
years ago, is at the centre of
Newquay’s multi million pound
regeneration.
Despite the credit crunch, land in
this Cornish resort can exchange
hands for £10 million an acre as it
rebuilds itself with new luxury
flats, restaurants and shops.

SKI boots can make or break a ski trip, let alone what they could do to your feet. “If you go to the hill on a busy weekend, I’d say
that probably 50 to 60% of the people are in boots that are severely limiting their skiing,”
says Steve Hankin from Glide ‘n’ Slide, the Otley-based specialist ski and snow sports retailer.
“Unsuitable, ill fitting boots, will severely affect your comfort and ultimately dictate whether you
have a great day on the slopes or one spent pining for the chalet. If you're going to spend serious money on any piece of equipment,

WINDOWS are the eyes of a
building – its most important feature. Altering them can easily spoil not just the building but the character of an area. Andy Walker director of window
restoration specialist Timbercare
Nationwide from Leicester says
repairing original windows in old
houses – favoured by English
Heritage in conservation areas –
is the best way of protecting the
character of the building.He adds: “It retains historic fabric, not just the joinery but also the original glass. In most cases the timber is of better quality than today's softwood replacement.”

IT’S more than two decades
since Michael Currell fell in
love with plastic.
Twenty-one years after starting
with £10,000 and a small
shop in Whitley Bay selling
perspex and polycarbonate
sheets, as well as plastic ductwork
to local independent construction
firms, he has turned
Bay Plastics into a North East
success story.
With the company