Atlas Composite Technologies
4 November 2025
Sector: Manufacturing
Location: Erewash
With their headquarters based in Erewash, Derbyshire, Atlas Composite Technologies Ltd is a leading UK-based manufacturer of advanced composite tooling, components, and assemblies.
Originally established in 1998 it came under its current ownership in 2017. The business is led by Managing Director Ben Swain, supported by a senior management team. Today the company employs approximately 100 full time staff and is rapidly expanding.
Atlas Composite Technologies Ltd specialises in the design and manufacture of composite tooling, as well as the production of lightweight, high-performance composite parts and assemblies. Its solutions are used across a range of sectors, including aerospace, defence, motorsport, and niche automotive.
Challenges faced
There were several barriers the business was facing driven by a combination of different factors. The greatest being increases in energy costs which had an impact on parts of the business and led to uncertainty around the true cost of manufacture. This also meant that they struggled to identify how best to tackle these issues and make savings in energy and labour costs. In particular, the business recognised the need to embrace greater digitalisation across all functions and was still at the early stages of this process.
Solution – Support Given
Head of Strategy, Grace Atkinson engaged with the Accelerator project and, with guidance from Business Adviser Richard Smallwood, explored opportunities for business growth and in particular how they could address the various challenges that they were facing. Together, they identified digitalisation as a key driver for progress. On this advice, Grace was introduced to Tim Telford of Devtank, who are a Derby based business specialising in test, measurement, and smart solutions. With Tim and his team’s expertise Atlas developed a detailed plan and proposal to introduce sophisticated digital monitoring equipment across key parts of the business.
With this proposal, Atlas successfully applied for a Research and Development grant from Erewash Borough Council, securing the maximum amount of £20,000. This funding enabled the installation of energy monitoring equipment, giving the business accurate insight into the true cost of manufacture within key processes across their business.
The Atlas Team have also taken part in a range of workshops to support ongoing growth, including Carbon Literacy training and skills workshops on team management and harnessing AI.
Following the Harnessing AI workshop, Grace recognised how the business could benefit from adopting this technology. With adviser support, Atlas have applied for a £2,000 Growth Voucher under the Derbyshire Accelerator project. This funding will be used to access consultancy on integrating AI (Microsoft Copilot) in their business. The consultancy will be delivered by Martin Broadhurst from Broadhurst Digital.
The business has further benefited from Chamber networks such as the East Midlands Manufacturing Network and is now looking forward to exploring international opportunities through the Export Accelerator.
Impact – The Difference it’s Made
The investment in the new monitoring system should make a huge difference to the business. The business now has greater visibility of manufacturing costs, helping to improve efficiency, margins and competitiveness. This in turn will create opportunities for growth, job creation, and staff development, while safeguarding existing roles.
“The support that we’ve had from the Chamber has been excellent and we have been particularly impressed with the way business advice has been provided allowing us to go at our own speed, which is a real breath of fresh air. We would recommend the Chamber’s funded support programmes to other SMEs.”
- Ben Swain, Managing Director
