Shares in Spectris are back up to where they were at the end of 2013, after a difficult few years and the odd warning. The company makes controls and instrumentation for pretty much every industry on the planet, including oil and gas, and it suffers when manufacturers stop investing.
The company is doing its best to combat any macroeconomic slowdown by cutting costs and improving the way it does business. Instead of simply delivering kit in a box, it is moving towards what it calls “the provision of solutions”. Customers increasingly want the job done for them, a move accelerated by the gradual retirement and non-replacement of qualified engineers.
In September, the company announced the purchase of Millbrook Group for a hefty £122 million. This