GB Belting
Family firm GB Belting has kept products moving across the globe for almost 40 years.
Employing 13 people from its Teesside Industrial Estate base, Thornaby, the company has reaped benefits from the Tees Valley Supply Chain Programme – building more contacts with businesses, attending workshops and building a plan to target the recycling sector.
Founded in 1986, GB Belting is the UK’s largest independent producer of process and conveyor belts – making everything from treadmill belts, to belts for the automotive sector and belts for the food industry.
And the end of 2024 saw the Teesside company ship to its 100th country on the planet.
The Challenge
The company’s unique selling points included a substantial £1m stock inventory, a network of on-site installation engineers, a remote troubleshooting system, and high-quality CNC fabrication.
Recent investments in enhanced manufacturing capacity, new equipment, and automation improvements positioned G.B. well to expand its market share within existing sectors and to access opportunities in new industries.
The firm wanted to broach the recycling industry and get more exposure to make the most of its strengths and secure its future.
The Solution
As a result of the support, the firm is launching a new range of conveyor belting targeted at the recycling industries.
The Supply Chain programme conducted market research into the recycling industry for the firm, which was used to put a business and marketing plan together to help GB Belting in this new market.
This plan included sector-specific brochures and personalised outreach emails to prospective clients, specifically focusing on the recycling sector—including plastics, timber, metal, and biomass—as well as Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the recycling industry.
GB Belting also attended RTC’s workshop “Mastering Supply Chain Data Security.” This session was especially valuable, given G.B. Belting’s growing interconnections with its suppliers and clients. The workshop equipped them with an in-depth understanding of cyber threats within supply chains and reinforced the importance of cyber-security to build customer trust and enhance their competitive positioning.
Alongside this, the firm was supported to build its network and contacts, including exhibiting at the NE Automotive Expo 2024 – generating a range of high-quality sales leads from their exhibition booth.
Bespoke work at GB Belting Ltd
The Benefits
Director Jeremy Byrne explained how both the programme and wider business support had been more than worthwhile.
“It’s about getting out there and putting your face in front of people,” he said.
“Although we’ve been going almost 40 years, I’m sure there are lots of companies out there who don’t know what we can offer them. We like to think we can offer something a little bit different.
“Certainly, our experiences with some major blue-chip companies show we do indeed offer something different. It’s more engineering support we offer and utilising our great depth of experience. We can cure a lot of problems and help peoples’ plants run much more efficiently.
“Yes, we make a living by supplying conveyor belts but, more importantly, I like to think of it more as a partnership between ourselves and our customers in the North-East of England so we continue to exist and grow in the region.”
With help of RTC, GB Belting is now primed to launch a range of conveyor belting aimed at the recycling industries.
Quick Q&A
What was the most useful aspect of the support?
The most useful aspect of the support was, somebody from outside the business having a look a what we do, and offering constructive advice, on our business plans in various areas.
Can you identify a standout lesson that you would pass onto another business leader/entrepreneur?
A standout is that RTC got to grips with our business, our products and the market sectors we supply, and supplied high quality information and put us in contact with relevant businesses and organisations in the market sectors we supply.
Why should other businesses sign up for the support?
Any organisation, who signs up, will get impartial and advice which may well help them with any problems they may have. Also, if they attend any of the events it is an ideal opportunity to network with relevant businesses.
GB Belting has received support via the Tees Valley Supply Chain Programme.
Tees Valley Supply Chain is delivered by RTC North on behalf of the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority, and the Tees Valley Business Board.
To find out more about Tees Valley Supply Chain Programme, go here.
