AS more companies up and down the country begin to feel the economic pinch, one local firm is continuing to move from strength to strength as well-known Mansfield firm Boneham and Turner celebrates its 90th year in business.
The precision engineering company had its humble beginnings in 1918 when founder John Boneham started reconditioning motorcycle engines in a shed before expanding into premises on Duke Street in the town in partnership with a Mr Turner.
Although Mr Turner withdrew from the company in 1920, John Boneham decided to continue with the help of a dedicated team of engineers reconditioning motor engines.
Soon, the firm was able to upgrade to a new factory on Nottingham Road in 1938, before expanding the factory once more four years later as it established its reputation as a high quality and reliable precision tools manufacturer.
Said company director Nicholas Boneham: "The key word with Boneham and Turner is precision. It has always been important to us to be able to cater for every need or requirement that comes to us, as well as being able to evolve and adapt to new markets."
During the war years the firm was heavily involved in the production of military equipment, creating shell casings and tail planes for Wellington Bombers at the Nottingham Road factory.
In 1951, Boneham and Turner expanded again –– adding another locally based branch at Field Mill as the company returned to its origins, creating parts for car manufacturers and continuing to produce its high quality engineering products with which it had made its name.
Despite a recent move away from the familiar Nottingham Road site to a state-of-the-art facility on Sutton's Oddicroft Lane industrial estate, Boneham and Turner is still going strong –– supplying parts for companies including Whirlpool, Rolls Royce and the Renault F1 team, as well as finding success with the company in America.
"We aren't experiencing any down turn at the moment and that's really quite pleasing from our point of view," Nicholas told Chad. "It may just be down to having such a broad market, but we remain very confident about the future."
But despite the popularity of the company, both Nicholas and his son Peter say they will remain true to their Mansfield roots.
Said Nicholas: "We have a lovely history really of four generations of Bonehams continuing the business and there is every chance of having a fifth with a new addition to the family!
"It was important for us to stay in the area with our recent move. We have a lot of dedicated and reliable staff and we didn't want to relocate too far from where we started.
"When the company started, Mrs Boneham was working in pubs all over Mansfield including the Brown Cow and my father was born there, so we definitely have our roots in Mansfield!"
And Peter added: "To us, the family business is very important and we are very passionate about what we do and obviously that's why we're still here while others in the industry haven't managed to survive."