Xcalibre broadens its global reach
“The future is exciting and the business support we have received has been brilliant and encouraged us to move into new areas of work."
A small Warwickshire business has cemented its place as a globally-renowned designer and manufacturer of precision equipment for highways and runways following support from Warwickshire County Council.
Xcalibre, based in Longford on the Warwickshire and Coventry border, specialises in diamond core drilling equipment. They export to 40 countries a range of trailers which operate predominately on highways and airfield runways to test the integrity of the surfaces and drill significant numbers of holes required for the installation of runway lights.
This expertise helps protect and facilitate travel all over the world. The business has many clients many across Europe (they are the market leader in France), as well as Australia, the USA, UAE and Africa. Xcalibre trailers are used by the MoD working on RAF Airfields and a trailer has undertaken work on Port Stanley Airport in the Falkland Islands.
Xcalibre was born in 1987 and then in 2009 Christian Molbech, who was born in Denmark, but now a UK Citizen, became the owner, establishing the business in Coventry and Warwickshire. Christian is passionate about the heritage and legacy of engineering and manufacturing in the area and will always tell you that the name Coventry is held in high esteem across the world for its quality precision engineering.
In 2023, to accommodate growth, it moved to new premises in Channel Way, Longford – and it was then that it tapped into local business support.
Xcalibre employee David Platts said: “We moved here two and a half years ago and, a bit like when you move house, we brought all our old furniture with us! We soon realised we needed some assistance and found there was brilliant support available from the County Council, the Borough Council, the City Council, and both the Growth and Skills Hubs. They have all been really helpful and that encourages you to grow.”
Among the most important support was an energy audit and grant from Warwickshire County Council’s Business Energy Advice Service.
“The BEAS grant went towards a new fork-lift trick,” said David. “Our old truck was so outdated it was on charge every minute we weren’t using it, sometimes all weekend. The audit identified that modernising it would save us money. The new fork-lift goes on charge for about 20 minutes every three weeks!
“The audit was brilliant. It also helped us look at the way the business operates. We work a compressed hours four-day week and the new truck and its constant availability allowed us to look at all our business processes.”
Xcalibre is a great example of a small Warwickshire business whose excellence resonates across the world. After benefiting from the business support – the Business Ready and Manufacturing Growth Programmes before the BEAS - the company is looking very much to the future and its ever-evolving needs.
“We are working with Innovate UK and Stakeholders such as Universities in the area on a research and development project exploring opportunities around EV technology,” said David. “At the Bauma Exhibition in Munich we were approached by customers from France, Italy, Scandinavia and America to see if we were developing an EV version of our trailers. This has real potential so it’s so helpful that we can work locally with partners stakeholders and local universities.
“The future is exciting and the business support we have received has been brilliant and encouraged us to move into new areas of work. The BEAS grant and audit led to so much improvement and helped us get a very effective and comfortable working environment. It has really helped the business to grow and we are really grateful.”