Welcome to 2023

While 2022 brought its challenges, with supply headwinds and an uncertain economic outlook, we continued to meet our growth targets and surpass the expectations of previous years in what has felt like a solid return to the ‘new normal.’

Across the Group, milestones and highlights from 2022 include:

1. Continued penetration into the USA market, where we already operate in two locations, with the acquisition of high security switch specialist, Magnasphere Corporation, in December.

2. Steady growth in a number of key markets including medical, renewable energy and transportation, including electric vehicles, due to our expertise in offering customised solutions.

3. Expanded global manufacturing capability with plants in the UK, Hungary and the USA, as well as a further two distribution sites in Germany.

4. Continued investment and support from our parent company, LSE-listed discoverIE Group plc. We were pleased to welcome them to Variohm Eurosensor’s Towcester site on a number of occasions last year and to Control Products, Inc. in New Jersey.

5. Several awards achieved by our employees including Variohm Eurosensor’s engineering manager, Jordan Barber, being presented with the Advanced/Higher Trevor Woodger MBE Award for career progression by The Engineering Trust, and operations manager, Richard Kelley, winning the Tech Leader of the Year (Manufacturing) Award at global software provider Epicor’s UK Customer Excellence Awards.

Outlook for 2023

As we settle in to 2023, we look forward to continuing to implement positive change and progression across the Group, building a sustainable business through innovative new product development and strategic acquisitions that will positively impact our customers, employees and local communities.

Environmental, social and governance considerations will continue to influence our operations and already in 2023 we have seen Positek achieve ISO 14001 accreditation, as well as renewal of the certification for Variohm Eurosensor and Ixthus Instrumentation. These standards sit alongside ISO 9001 and other quality assurances held by companies within the Group.

The driving force behind our success is our employees who bring a range of skills, knowledge and experience to the table, working together to deliver customised and bespoke sensing, switching and motion control solutions for our customers. We are looking forward to meeting old faces and building new relationships at a number of in-person events this year, with Limitor taking part in Coiltech Deutschland in March, Positek at Offshore Europe Conference & Exhibition in September, and Variohm Eurosensor expected to attend Professional Motorsport World Expo in November.

Our ability to pull together as a team when the demands placed upon us are at their most challenging is exceptional, with our sales, engineering, operations and production teams delivering products that exceed the expectations of our customers, leveraging the technologies we have developed since the inception of Variohm Eurosensor in 1974. We continue to grow our team and offer training and professional development opportunities to help employees grow in their current role or prepare for new ones. Among the courses our employees undertook last year were electronics-specific IPC and EMC training, first aid, and health & safety. In addition, we remain hugely proud of the number of long serving employees we have, with some reaching the significant milestone of 25 years this year.

With many projects already in the pipeline for 2023 it is set to be another interesting year for the Group as we continue to offer our customers worldwide a solution for their application.

Graham Pattison
Variohm Group Managing Director