Caravanning Popularity Boosts Innovation at Sheffield Engineering Company

22nd September 2017

A boom in caravanning is fueling innovation at a historic Sheffield company.

Sub contract engineering company PCT, which is based in Sheffield, is now designing four new towbars a month to cope with demand from the UK's burgeoning caravanning sector. PCT operates across a wide range of industries but manufacturers up to 50,000 towbars a year. It is set to become the UK's largest towbar manufacturer after Witter announced recently that it plans to move production to low cost countries in December. The company has also struck a UK distribution deal with two manufacturers, Belgium-based GDW and ConWys. James Harding-Terry, Managing Director at PCT, said: -We're seeing unprecedented growth and development at PCT which is great news for our customers. -We're seeing strong growth in our sub-contract engineering business but the towbar sector is equally strong with turnover across the business up by a third. -Every time a new vehicle with a towing capability is launched, we aim to develop a towbar solution. We're underpinning our customer offer with innovative design and quality R&D. -We've invested more than £550,000 in new machinery to fuel growth and we're also investing in new technical staff and designers. James said demand was being driven by the -huge upturn in the domestic tourism market, a point underlined by caravan booking site PitchUp which is reporting 58% year-on-year growth in bookings. -Caravanner and towers are driving demand and driving growth at PCT, said James. -We're working hard to give our customers the innovative towing solutions they're seeking. Innovation is at the heart of what we do at PCT. PCT, which turns over £6m, was founded in 1926 and celebrated its 90th anniversary last year. PCT is able to fit a full range of towbars flange, swan necks and higher end detachables which are also growing in popularity. PCT has also invested in two mobile fitting units which will be visiting dealerships to fit products. For more information visit pct.eu.com