Telmar's telecoms talent connects to success in West Midlands

Telmar Network Technology, an American-owned telecommunications company, is expanding its repair and refurbishing operation at the heart of the West Midlands after a surge in demand for its services.

Started up in Solihull by the pioneering partnership of managing director Jai Sharma and operations director Jacqui Matthews, the original two-person operation is now on course to employ over 30 people by July 2008 - less than 18 months after securing their first order for business.

Based at Focus Park, in Ashbourne Way, Solihull, Telmar Network Technology repairs, refurbishes and services major network telecommunications systems across the UK. Major customers are key players in the ICT sector, including telecom operators, mobile service providers and telecom manufacturers.

The US company's decision to locate in the West Midlands was a key inward investment success for regional development agency Advantage West Midlands, which is responsible for working overseas to promote the region and generate investment, and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.

Jai Sharma, Managing Director, said: "It's a challenging economic climate for the telecommunications sector but three key themes have established Telmar as the market leader in our particular field: our enthusiasm, innovation and price.

"Our ability to reverse engineer combined with the technical ability and expertise of our highly skilled workforce means we can provide a total support solution for telecommunications networks, with service levels within 10 days instead of weeks, and with substantial price difference to mainstream providers.

"All our work is covered by a 12-month warranty. Our services prolong the life of our customer's network, which is not only a great boost to sustainability and recycling but also gives companies substantial savings by improving the return on their original network investment, as well as reducing spend on replacing their network.

"Telmar were attracted to the region after contact with Advantage West Midlands. Solihull is great location for national and international business, with excellent transport links - a crucial factor when you operate a 24-hour seven days a week call out facility.

"We occupy 32,300 sq ft of floor space at Focus Park and we have expanded our lab facility in response to demand. We will be employing another 10 people in July 2008, taking the workforce to over 30, but that could grow to over 50 by 2009. We're also close to starting an apprenticeship scheme."

The American parent company, which is part of the private equity house Warburg Pincus, has corporate headquarters in Irvine, California. With an annual turnover of over £300 million, it employs over 800 people at premises in Iowa, New Jersey, Texas and Florida and logistics and repair facilities in the UK, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, The Netherlands and Malaysia.

The UK operation has the largest inventory of second-user equipment in the industry with strength in Marconi, Nokia, Ericsson, Siemens, Alcatel, Nortel, Lucent, Motorola, Tellabs, ADC, Adtran and others. There are over 30 field stock locations across the UK, 150 collection points with counter services, 120 technical couriers, and full inventory tracking from repair, warehouse courier and redeployment.

Telmar has ISO 9000:2000 and TL 9000 certification in all its major distribution facilities.