Jenks and Cattell Engineering

What Jenks and Cattell Engineering does

Jenks and Cattell Engineering Ltd is a Wolverhampton-based, tier-2 contract manufacturer of precision sheet metal components, founded in 1886 and operating from a single Neachells Lane facility under family-owned parent Newship Group (acquired 1986). The business concentrates four core fabrication capabilities under one roof — metal pressing (power presses from 80 to 1000 tonnes including a 750-tonne coil-fed progression press), laser cutting and fabrication (AMADA Ventis and Trumpf systems, with stated 0.2mm accuracy up to 25mm thickness), welding (manual MIG/TIG plus seven Fanuc robotic cells) and CNC machining (SYIL centres) — and complements these with surface finishing, mechanical assembly, in-house press tools and quality engineering including CMM measurement and macro-weld testing. It produces approximately 6.5 million metal components per year and serves tier-1/tier-2 supply chains for Volvo, Porsche, Toyota, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover and General Motors in automotive; Caterpillar, Perkins Engines and Cummins in off-highway; Dennis Eagle in refuse collection; and is expanding into defence (JOSCAR approved), medical (MRI scanners), mobility, energy and construction.

The commercial model is a quote-based, build-to-print engineering services business with no public pricing. Customers submit drawings via a website quote form or through direct sales outreach; the Wolverhampton sales team and a Stuttgart office cover enterprise buyers, supplemented by factory tours and trade-show presence at Southern Manufacturing & Electronics, DPRTE, NEAA Expo and the Make UK Defence Summit. Long-standing OEM relationships (Caterpillar and GM since 2001; Cummins and Dennis Eagle since 2016) are reinforced by recognised industry certifications — IATF 16949, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001 (held since 1998), JOSCAR and Cyber Essentials — and by customer-side awards including Dennis Eagle Platinum Supplier status and Caterpillar's 7 Steps to Welding Excellence.

Jenks and Cattell is owned by Newship Group, which has group turnover of approximately £250m and provides financial backing for ongoing equipment investment; the company itself sits at ~110 employees, ~£11.5m revenue (2024) and >£1m pre-tax profit, while allocating roughly £7m of new business generated in 2024 across 37 partners and OEMs and onboarding up to 10 apprentices in 2025 (its highest annual intake to date), with Ian Reed having been appointed Managing Director in 2025.

Name

Jenks and Cattell Engineering

Legal name

Jenks & Cattell Engineering Ltd

Website

https://jcel.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1886

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Jenks and Cattell Engineering is a UK tier-2 contract manufacturer of precision sheet metal components — metal pressing, laser cutting, robotic welding, CNC machining and mechanical assembly under one roof in Wolverhampton — serving automotive, off-highway, defence, mobility, energy and medical OEMs across the UK and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wolverhampton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Metal Pressing Services: Serial production volume metal pressings using power presses ranging from 80 to 1000 tonnes. Fast automated production methods producing thousands of metal components per hour.
2. Laser Cutting Services: Subcontract laser cutting services for annual volumes under 10,000 and conception phase prototypes. No tooling investment required.
3. Welding Assembly Services: Robotic welding for high volume assemblies and manual welding for low-mid volumes. Stainless steel and aluminium specialists.
4. CNC Machining Services: Precision CNC machining for prototypes to serial production. Complimentary to metal pressing, laser cutting and welded assembly services.
5. Surface Finishing Services: Metal surface finishing including zinc plating, electrophoretic painting, powder coating, heat treatment, anodising, galvanising, and screen printing through trusted local suppliers.
6. Mechanical Assembly Services: Complete assembled and functioning assemblies including nut insertion, springs, clips, labels, toxing, riveting, pipe clips, plastic components and insulation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels13 records

Core offering

Jenks and Cattell Engineering is a contract metal fabrication manufacturer providing integrated sheet metal production services under one roof. Core offerings include metal pressing (power presses 80–1000 tonnes), laser cutting and fabrication (AMADA and Trumpf machines), welding (manual MIG/TIG plus 7 FANUC robotic cells), and CNC machining (SYIL machines). These are complemented by surface finishing, mechanical assembly, press tools, and quality engineering for prototype through serial production.

Product overview

Jenks and Cattell Engineering is a sheet metal fabrication manufacturing services provider offering an integrated suite of production capabilities. The core manufacturing services include Metal Pressing (power presses 80-1000 tonnes for serial production), Laser Cutting & Fabrication (AMADA and Trumpf machines for materials up to 25mm), Welding (manual MIG/TIG plus 7 robotic FANUC cells), and CNC Machining (SYIL machines for precision components). These core services are complemented by value-adding modules including Surface Finishing (zinc plating, powder coating, anodising, etc.), Mechanical Assembly (nut insertion, riveting, functional assembly), Press Tools (tooling design and management), and Quality Engineering (PPAP, ISIR, dimensional reporting). All operations are conducted under one roof at their Wolverhampton facility, enabling complete product lifecycle support from prototype through serial production.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Metal Pressing Precision sheet metal pressing service using power presses ranging from 80 to 1000 tonnes, including coil-fed progression presses, transfer lines, and single operation presses for serial production of metal components.
• Laser Cutting & Fabrication Laser cutting services using AMADA Ventis and Trumpf machines capable of cutting materials up to 25mm thick with accuracy tolerances of 0.2mm, accompanied by press brake forming and edge finishing.
• Welding Comprehensive welding services including spot welding, projection welding, manual MIG/TIG welding, robotic welding using 7 FANUC robots, and stainless steel and aluminium specialisation.
• CNC Machining Precision CNC machining using SYIL machines for milling, drilling, tapping, and vertical axis operations on various metals including aluminium, steel, copper, brass, stainless steel, and titanium.
• Surface Finishing Metal surface finishing services including zinc plating, electrophoretic painting, powder coating, heat treatment, anodising, galvanising, and screen printing through trusted local suppliers.
• Mechanical Assembly Complete assembled and functioning assemblies including nut insertion, springs, clips, label application, toxing, riveting, pipe clips, plastic components, and insulation.
• Press Tools Press tool manufacturing, resource management, and solutions including prototype soft tooling and production hard tooling for progression presses, transfer presses, pick & place presses, and single operation presses.
• Quality Engineering Quality engineering services including dimensional reporting, ISIR, material certificates, PPAP to level 3, pressure testing, macro weld testing, and PDI inspection.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% landfill waste diversion since January 2023
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary, strategic and minor.

• Dennis EaglecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Long-standing partnership since 2016. Platinum Supplier Recognition Award recipient. Sole metal pressing supplier across Dennis Eagle's refuse collection vehicle. Eight-year partnership achieving >99.5% OTIF and >1.25% PPK. Only 35 of 205 suppliers achieved Platinum status.
• CumminscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Cummins Category Partner since 2016. Supplying engines and components for off-highway industry.
• CaterpillarcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2001Partnership since 2001. Achieved Caterpillar's 7 Steps to Welding Excellence - one of just 3 UK suppliers. Received Supplier Excellence Award. Supplying off-highway components including diffusers and engines.
• Gowrings Versa MobilitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered for wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAV). Supplying sheet metal laser cut fabrications, welded assemblies and metal pressed parts for mobility solutions.
• Make UK DefencestrategicGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial members of Make UK Defence. The organisation represents and supports UK manufacturers. Company attends Meet the Buyer events and Make UK Defence Summit.
• North East Automotive Alliance (NEAA)strategicGTM or Marketing PartnerLongstanding member of NEAA. Won SME of the Year award at NEAA Awards. Exhibits at NEAA Expo. Partnership enables growth and presence within automotive and off-highway industry.
• Made in the MidlandssecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerMember of Made in the Midlands. Partnership supports Backing British Manufacturing and supply chain initiatives.
• Aluminium Federation (ALFED)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of Aluminium Federation. Supports sustainable manufacturing and aluminium recycling initiatives. Company processes aluminium for automotive, bicycle, off-highway and renewable energy industries.
• SGSstrategicImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThird-party certification body for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and IATF 16949 certifications.
• British Standards (BSI)strategicImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnership with British Standards for quality and compliance governance.
• SMMTsecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerSociety of Motoring Manufacturers and Traders membership for automotive industry collaboration and best practice sharing.
• City of Wolverhampton CollegestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for apprenticeship delivery. Celebrated decade of apprentices with 15 apprentices trained to date. Apprentices gain practical workplace training combined with technical education.
• In-Comm TrainingstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraining partner for apprenticeships. Delivers Level 2 and Level 4 apprenticeships across engineering, quality, and business functions.
• VeoliaminorOthersEnvironmental services partner for recycling and waste management. Supports company's sustainability initiatives and recycling efforts.
• PLT Training LtdminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExternal training provider for manual handling and safety training workshops delivered on-site.

Scale indicators20 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/JenksCattell
• Facebookfacebook.com/jenksandcattell
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jenks-and-cattell-engineering-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/jenks_cattell_engineering

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jenks and Cattell Engineering