What DKM does

DKM is a UK-based precision sheet metal fabrication company headquartered in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, with a satellite manufacturing cell in Tewkesbury. Founded in 1979 and bought out by current Managing Director Steve Hearn and co-owner Guy Goring in 2004, the company operates from 45,000+ sqft of combined manufacturing space and employs 50+ staff. DKM provides end-to-end custom sheet metal manufacturing services to enterprise customers across telecom, domestic appliances, medical, retail, pharmaceutical, audio, and utility sectors, with named clients including Siemens, Vodafone, BT, EE, Next, and H&M.

The company runs a capital-intensive production platform anchored by Amada CNC machinery: an EMK3610 58-station turret punch with MP-F automation enabling 24/7 lights-out operation, an LCG3015AJ fibre laser for cutting up to 12mm mild steel, five HFE 3i eight-axis press brakes, twelve dedicated welding bays plus a 2022 robotic welding cell, three-stage phosphate pre-treatment and RoHS-compliant powder coating, and a Solidworks/Radan CAD/CAM design and nesting environment. This toolset supports volumes from 1 to 500+ units and rapid turnarounds, exemplified by 34 medical-sector cabinets of four variants produced from design to delivery in 17 days during COVID-19.

DKM generates revenue primarily through B2B contract manufacturing fees on custom sheet metal parts and assemblies, with quote-based pricing tied to specifications, materials and volume, and multi-year contracts with blue-chip customers. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales supplemented by case-study content and direct contact channels. Operational performance is evidenced by 98% on-time delivery across its logistics network and 18+ months of 100% on-time delivery to Siemens. The business is debt-free, ISO 9001:2015 certified for four consecutive years with zero non-conformities, and projected to reach £7.4M turnover in 2022/2023, up from £400k at the 2004 buyout.

Name

DKM

Legal name

DKM Sheet Metal

Website

https://dkmsheetmetal.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DKM is a UK precision sheet metal fabricator serving blue-chip enterprise customers across telecom, medical, domestic appliances, retail, pharmaceutical, audio and utility sectors with custom manufacturing from design to delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stonehouse

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sheet Metal Fabrication Services: DKM provides precision sheet metal fabrication services including punching, laser cutting, forming, welding, inserting/tapping/rolling, finishing and fabrication, painting and assembly, design and development, and logistics. Revenue is generated through manufacturing fees for custom sheet metal parts and assemblies produced to customer specifications.
2. Complete Manufacturing Solutions: DKM offers end-to-end manufacturing from initial concept to volume production, including design services, prototyping, and full-scale manufacturing. Revenue streams from design fees, prototyping costs, and ongoing production contracts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

DKM manufactures custom precision sheet metal components, enclosures and assemblies for blue-chip enterprise customers in the UK and Europe. Services span CNC punching, fibre laser cutting, press-brake forming, welding, inserting/tapping/rolling, finishing, RoHS-compliant powder coating, mechanical assembly, CAD/CAM design and development, and in-house logistics, delivered from a 35,000 sqft Stonehouse facility and a 10,000 sqft Tewkesbury satellite cell. Production runs range from single prototypes to 500+ unit batches across sectors such as telecommunications, industrial manufacturing, domestic appliances, medical, retail, pharmaceutical, utilities and audio.

Product overview

DKM is a precision sheet metal fabrication company offering a comprehensive suite of manufacturing services: Punching (CNC with 58-station turret and automation), Laser Cutting (fibre laser up to 12mm mild steel), Forming (press brake bending with 3i technology), Welding (TIG/MIG/stud welding), Inserting/Tapping/Rolling, Finishing and Fabrication, Painting and Powder Coating (RoHS compliant), Design and Development (Solidworks/Radan), and Logistics delivery. The company manufactures custom products including 5G telecoms cabinets, medical electrical control cabinets, domestic range cooker components, modular electrical control panels, and smart meter box covers. Services operate from a 35,000+ sqft facility in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire with satellite operations in Tewkesbury.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Punching Services Precision CNC punching services using Amada EMK3610 with 58-station multi-turret and MP-F automation for high-volume sheet metal processing with lights-out 24/7 capability, aimed at enterprise OEMs needing repeatable production runs.
• Laser Cutting Services Fibre laser cutting using Amada LCG3015AJ technology for precision cutting of mild steel up to 12mm, stainless steel, aluminium, copper, brass and titanium, targeted at precision sheet metal buyers across multiple industries.
• Forming Services CNC press brake forming using five Amada HFE eight-axis press brakes with latest 3i technology for precision bending up to 2.5 metre capacity, supplied to OEMs needing consistent part geometry.
• Welding Services Skilled TIG, MIG, stud and spot welding services with twelve dedicated welding bays for ferrous and non-ferrous materials including aluminium and stainless steel, used in assembly of customer products.
• Inserting, Tapping and Rolling Services Inserting, tapping and rolling services including PEM-inserting machines, pantographic tapping up to M8 threads, and panel rolling up to 1,250mm long and 3mm thick, offered as part of DKM's in-house finishing capability.
• Finishing and Fabrication Services Fine-limit welding, MIG fabrication, and finishing services including grinding, sanding and polishing for surface grain restoration and powder coating preparation.
• Painting and Assembly Services Complete painting and powder coating with three-stage degreasing, zinc phosphate pre-treatment, and RoHS-compliant powder coating facility running 24/7, plus mechanical assembly of finished parts.
• Design and Development Services Product design and development using Solidworks and Radan MRP system for 3D modelling, engineering drawings and manufacturing optimisation from initial concept to production, sold alongside manufacturing contracts.
• Logistics Services In-house delivery network with three dedicated vehicles operating five days a week, serving Midlands, South Wales, South West and South East England with 98% on-time delivery performance, with capability to deliver across the UK and Europe.
• 5G Telecoms Cabinets Custom-designed telecoms cabinets including flatpack solutions for electronic component housing, 5G cabinets for network operators, and rural 4G coverage enhancement units supplied to UK telecom operators.
• Medical Electrical Control Cabinets Custom electrical control cabinets for medical sector healthcare infrastructure, including data management and system reliability enhancement solutions supplied under rapid design-to-delivery contracts.
• Domestic Range Cooker Components Precision sheet metal components for luxury electric range cookers including main shells, lids, surrounds, hinges and ovens with high-quality surface finishes, supplied to a leading range cooker manufacturer since 2004.
• Modular Electrical Control Panels Universal modular electrical control cabinets designed for housing multiple electrical variants, featuring standardised enclosures for motor control panels installed in retail environments including Next and H&M.
• Smart Meter Box Covers Replacement meter box covers for utility companies, including electric and gas models distributed through national building merchants under contracts with several national utility companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 97%+ on-time delivery performance
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SiemenscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021DKM has supplied Siemens in the UK and worldwide for over 12 years. DKM improved efficiencies to offer year-on-year savings and was given the opportunity to manufacture a new product line previously made in Germany. DKM's engineering team identified and implemented production process improvements that helped Siemens reduce costs.
• VodafonecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019DKM works with Vodafone on 5G telecommunications cabinet designs. The company created innovative cabinet solutions for Vodafone's network infrastructure requirements.
• BTcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019DKM designed cabinets for BT to ensure 4G mobile coverage could be rolled out in rural areas, demonstrating their design and manufacturing capabilities for telecommunications infrastructure.
• EEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019DKM's flatpack telecommunications cabinet solution was used by EE and installed on tower rooftops across major UK cities.
• NextminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019DKM manufactured modular electrical control cabinets for Next retail locations, providing a standardized enclosure solution that replaced the need for drilling and rework of off-the-shelf enclosures.
• H&MminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019DKM's modular electrical control cabinets were installed in H&M retail locations, providing the same cost-effective standardized solution as used by Next.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WEC Group: One of the largest UK sheet metal fabrication and contract manufacturing groups, operating multiple production sites across the UK. Highly comparable to DKM as a UK-based, multi-sector precision sheet metal fabricator serving OEM customers, but at significantly larger scale.
• Allmetal Industries: UK precision sheet metal fabricator providing laser cutting, punching, folding and finishing for industrial OEM customers. Directly comparable to DKM in capability set and horizontal customer-segment approach.
• Proserve Engineering: UK precision sheet metal fabricator offering laser cutting, CNC machining and finishing services. Comparable to DKM in service mix and UK mid-market positioning, competing for similar blue-chip OEM contracts.
• Fenton Precision Engineering: UK precision engineering and sheet metal fabrication company serving multiple industrial sectors. Comparable to DKM in offering laser cutting, forming and welding to blue-chip UK customers from a mid-sized UK facility.
• APL Group: European-headquartered sheet metal fabrication and machining group with multiple UK production facilities. Comparable to DKM in core fabrication capabilities and OEM customer focus, but with broader geographic and capacity footprint.
• Hydroform Fabrication: UK precision sheet metal fabrication specialist offering laser cutting, CNC punching, pressing, welding and finishing services to industrial customers. Closely comparable to DKM in service mix, mid-market customer base and UK OEM focus.
• MTL Group: UK-based metal fabrication business producing sheet metal components and assemblies for industrial customers. Similar to DKM in horizontal B2B sheet metal fabrication model and UK OEM customer base.
• James Engineering: UK-based precision sheet metal fabricator providing laser cutting, folding, welding and finishing for industrial customers. Directly comparable to DKM in capability set and target customer profile (UK OEMs across multiple sectors).

Broad incumbents

• Bodycote: Global, publicly-listed provider of heat treatment and metal finishing services. Adjacent peer — not a direct fabricator like DKM — but operates in the same UK metal-processing supply chain and shares some finishing/powder-coating-adjacent customer relationships.
• Mayville Engineering Company (MEC): US-listed precision metal fabrication and engineered components supplier serving industrial, commercial and aerospace customers. Comparable to DKM as a precision sheet metal fabricator, but operating at substantially larger scale and with public-company breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dkm-sheetmetal-ltd

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 DKM