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Clough and Taylor Engineering

Founded in 1978, Clough & Taylor Engineering (CTE) are toolmakers and precision engineers based in Nottingham, UK. The private limited company employs 11 people and last year had a turnover of £4.5 million. Although CTE has had customers throughout the UK, over 90% of its trade is in East Midlands area of the UK, i.e. within a 50 mile radius of the company’s base.

The company is a successful SME operating in a specialised, though highly competitive, market. The majority of Clough & Taylor Engineering’s products are bespoke, being designed and manufactured to meet individual customer’s specifications. Three local authorities (in the Midlands) use the firm as the primary supplier of housings and fittings for heating, refrigeration and air-conditioning units. Other customers range from SMEs to local divisions of multi–national organizations.

The company is production orientated with no marketing staff or strategic marketing planning. It is the quality of the finished products and short lead times that sustains their order book – with the majority of customers being repeat business or via recommendations from satisfied clients. Both partners are prominent in the local business networking circuit and generate a significant amount of PR [e.g. stories in local newspapers]– although this is accidental rather than part of any marketing initiative. After initial approaches from potential customers, all are visited by the CTE sales representative to discuss and agree specifications. Contact is maintained throughout the project by telephone, email and personal visits.

The company has a single-page website, the provision and hosting for which is part of the registration of the domain name cloughandtaylor.co.uk. This website consists of little more than the firm's name and contact details. The company has a listing on Google Business Profile.