Welsh Tracking Company creating five new jobs

A fast-growing Mid Wales telematics company, which has tripled turnover in two years, is creating five new jobs after expanding into new offices with support from the Welsh Government.

Award-winning Plant-i Ltd, which celebrated its 10th birthday last year, has more than doubled the size of its premises by moving across Dyfi Eco Park in Machynlleth into the 5,300 square foot Unit 3.

The company’s expansion was made possible with support from the Welsh Government who purchased Unit 3, which had been vacant for some time, to lease to Plant-i Ltd.

Employing a workforce of 18, the company has taken on four new staff in the past year and is creating another three highly skilled posts immediately, including an engineering manager and software developers. New sales and a support roles will follow later this year.

Plant-i Ltd, which had turnover of £750,000 two years ago, expects to break through the £3 million barrier by the end of the current financial year. The company’s growth is in line with managing director Sam Browne’s business plan projections.

The expansion into larger premises follows the direct involvement of Edwina Hart, the Welsh Government’s Minister for Economy, Science and Transport, who met Mr Browne and other Fast Growth 50 company bosses at a meeting organised by Mid Wales Manufacturing Group in Newtown earlier this year.

Mr Browne told the Minister of his company’s need for larger premises to accommodate its expansion plans and she immediately instructed her team to help.
“Between us we very quickly identified a vacant building that would allow Plant-i to quickly grow and generate additional jobs,” said Mr Browne.

“This whole process has moved on very quickly with every hurdle resolved in a matter of weeks. We moved into the building this week and are generating five more jobs in the next two months, which are highly skilled and well paid.

“The building’s extra facilities will allow Plant-i to offer remote data and innovative solutions into new markets and expand our customer base.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in Welsh Government and Mid Wales Manufacturing Group for supporting our growth and job creation plans here in Machynlleth.”

Minister Mrs Hart said: “We are committed to working with companies to create business and job growth opportunities in Wales and this latest expansion clearly demonstrates this.

“Plant-i Ltd is a highly successful indigenous business with a track record of achieving and exceeding its job creation objectives. It identified a significant opportunity to grow the business and I am pleased that support from the Welsh Government enabled this to happen.”

Winner of the Powys Small Business Award last year, Plant-i is an inspiring, home grown, success story of entrepreneurship, innovation and business growth from humble beginnings. Mr Browne began the business from a kitchen table at his Machynlleth home in 2004.

Eleven years later, he is delivering global tracking technology and market leading vehicle tracking, fleet telematics, fuel management and asset security solutions to one of the UK’s largest insurance providers and other major companies.

The company, which aims to introduce its technology into Europe in the next year, works with a wide range of companies, from providing tracking solutions to a Scottish trawler business to developing an application for a London taxi company that operates electric vehicles.

Last year, Plant-i developed a bespoke black box tracking solution for Venture 2014, an endurance event for super powerboats travelling from London to Monte-Carlo. The company believes the VentureTrack technology has huge potential for use in long distance races of all types.