Business Imperative
Gen 2 Carbon Ltd, previously known as ELG Carbon Fibre, was founded in 2011 to create and operate the world’s first – and largest – carbon fibre recycling plant. In late 2018 the Mitsubishi Corporation acquired a 25% stake, this partnership will increase Gen 2 Carbon’s channels to market.
Based in Coseley, in the West Midlands, Gen 2 Carbon takes in scrap carbon fibre – carbon fibre waste, part-used bobbins, off-cuts of ‘pre-pregs’ and laminates – and turns them into usable carbon fibre products for the aerospace, rail and automotive industries.
By 2016, the growth that the business had experienced led to a realisation that its existing systems – essentially the Sage 50 accounting suite, Salesforce CRM and a significant number of spreadsheets – were no longer adequate for its needs.
“The business had reached the size where the need for a proper stock control system had become imperative,” recalls Gen 2 Carbon’s IT Manager Nick Bott, who had recently joined the company. “Plus, it was also obvious that spreadsheets didn’t provide the proper controls, structure and disciplines that the business needed.”