Cut From Uncommon Cloth
In July 2020 The Uncommon Practice launched a targeted campaign to find a client business to partner with, on a journey of growth....
In this uncommon venture, TUP offered the winning owner-managed SME up to 3 years of professional services consultancy completely free of charge, to help turbo-charge business growth.
More than 50 business owners applied, from sectors as diverse as Financial Services, Education, Manufacturing and Technology. Four businesses were short-listed; all with the potential for exponential growth given the right support. After intense lockdown video introductions with owner/managers –interrogating their ambition and vision, as well as what they wanted from a consultant partner - AE Aerospace was finally confirmed as the winner in December 2020.
How did The Uncommon Practice choose AE Aerospace?
“AE Aerospace was a strong contender from the off,” admits Steve Harvey, Founder and Director at The Uncommon Practice. “It’s a fast growing and innovative sector and AE have already achieved substantial growth since their management buyout in 2013. But the ambition demonstrated by Peter Bruch and his management team was evident from the first conversation.”
In the last seven years, AE Aerospace successes have included accreditation to the UK Aerospace and Defence industry, numerous industry innovation awards and BEIS grant funding for SC21 C&G in February 2020. More recently they became the first UK SME to deploy a 5G private network in partnership with WM5G and its technology partner BT, on three 5G use cases set to transform manufacturing productivity.
How does AE Aerospace feel about the Uncommon approach?
“We’ve always been willing to consider and implement fundamental change - even to core aspects of our business” explained AE’s Managing Director and co-owner Peter Bruch. “Our agility, along with a constant focus on improvement across every part of the business, has insulated us from a lot of the impact of COVID 19 across the aviation industry, but it was clear to me that we needed fresh thinking to help us make the most of the next few years. We saw kindred spirits in the Uncommon team; from the first conversation I could tell they wanted the same success we do. They’re going to look at every aspect of our business to identify where the opportunities for growth may be. Nothing is off the table.”
So, what next?
Peter has a really clear idea of what he wants AE Aerospace to achieve and has set a challenging timeline to achieve it. “Even in our early discussions they were pushing us to demonstrate what we could bring to the table to help grow the AE business!" Steve laughs. "Despite their success, there’s no sense that they’re ready to take their foot off the pedal just yet and that’s exactly what we were looking for... A good business with a strong business plan, but with the ambition and potential to be a truly great business delivering turbo-charged growth. ”
We can’t wait to get started.