From when it was founded in 1858 in Sunderland, to the present day, Cottam Brush has specialised in the manufacture of brushes for industry. More recently, over the past two years, support from the North East Growth Hub has helped the business to fund investments, plan its net zero strategy, and make new connections. Cottam Brush’s Production Engineer, David Leathead, explains more. 

What prompted you to get in touch with the North East Growth Hub?

The first time we got in touch with the North East Growth Hub was back in 2021, when we were looking for help to reduce Cottam Brush’s carbon emissions. The Growth Hub’s Peer Network programme did exactly that; we made new connections with other businesses and were supported to put in place ways of measuring our carbon emissions.

Through this, we knew about the range of support available via the North East Growth Hub’s Business Support Advisers, and one of my colleagues recommended I get in touch again this year when I was looking to source a new piece of machinery.

Cottam Brush is a business which has really diversified over the years. From originally providing brushes to industries like shipbuilding and steel, we now mainly make bespoke and custom brushes for sectors including subsea, automotive and oil and gas.

Most recently, we’ve been looking into purchasing new equipment to make the manufacture of our products more efficient and cost effective. After some research and testing we knew this new method was a viable alternative. This was when I got in touch with Ian Wood from the North East Growth Hub and ultimately made the decision to invest in a new piece of machinery.

And what support did you receive?

Ian told me about the Growth Hub’s Made Smarter Adoption North East programme and through that we secured 50% of the funding we needed for the new machinery.

On top of that, the programme also introduced us to other North East manufacturing businesses, so we could learn from each other’s experiences. I attended a number of sessions and we hosted one event here at Cottam Brush and it was good to speak to like-minded engineers who work in the industry.

The conversations I had were very helpful and partly as a result of that we’re now looking into more automation and investigating the use of robots – and cobots – in our processes.

How would you describe your experience with the North East Growth Hub?

They’re easy people to work with, who have a vast amount of knowledge and a lot of backup as well – so if they can’t answer a question, they’ll know someone who can.

Talking to others through the Growth Hub is well worth the time invested. Everyone we spoke to was really knowledgeable, experienced and respectful of our business.

I think businesses in engineering and manufacturing – and in any sector really – could really learn from the experience of others so I’d recommend getting in touch with the North East Growth Hub.

Ian Wood is one of the North East Growth Hub’s Business Support Advisers, who provide tailored advice to help North East businesses grow. Make an appointment with Ian, or another of the North East Growth Hub Business Support Advisers, here.