The original company dates back to the early 1980s, when it was engaged primarily in making musical instrument cases. In 1989, it was acquired by industrial foam conversion specialist Flexiplas, and current MD Jim Willis set out to broaden 5 Star's horizons to expand beyond its music business base. Clients from the Industrial sector soon came on board, including Rolls Royce, Racal and Sony Broadcast.
In 1991 Keith Sykes, the current works director and MD designate, joined the company as production manager following the acquisition of Ipswich-based Pro-Tect Cases. The purchase brought an impressive contacts book from the rock 'n' roll rental market into the equation, adding yet another dimension to the growing company.In 1992, Flexiplas was sold and 5 Star went it alone, by now rapidly strengthening its roots in the rock 'n' roll and production industry hire market, alongside the core areas of MI and industrials. Now with around 20 full-time staff, the push to establish itself as a favourite within the entertainment industry gained momentum, and has continued year on year, leading to the purchase of the company's current 28,000sq.ft Broadend Road premises five years ago. Today the workforce stands at around 50.
Sykes, set to assume the MD's title as Jim Willis plans his retirement, works alongside a key management team including general manager Justin Locks and production manager Andy Hudson. The company has two technical sales managers covering England, while Jim Willis looks after Scotland and export.
Eighty per cent of 5 Star's work is for the entertainment industry - including sound, lighting, video, theatre and exhibitions. The MI elements are small in comparison, with the balance made up by core industrial business from the medical, telecoms and engineering sectors. 5 Star still also retains a sizable chunk of the foam insert production which came onboard in the Flexiplas days, and now runs as a separate entity within the factory.
The company retains as much of the manufacturing processes as possible in-house, which has been a huge benefit to streamlining the operation - from the IT infrastructure right through to the developing and adapting of machines for specific purposes. The first major investment into CNC machinery was in 1999, with the purchase of a Thermwood Model 40 Machining Centre - 5 Star's biggest single investment that year, apart from the new building! This made a substantial difference to the workflow, says Sykes, enabling them to automate many processes which had previously been done by hand. It opened new avenues in terms of versatility, eliminated some of the most repetitive jobs and ramped up output speed. A second Thermwood machine was added at the end of last year - the latest version of the same Machining Centre.
Interesting projects have abounded over the years. One of the most challenging was housing a full-sized model bison and a scaled plaster mountain range for a Natural History Museum European tour about early modern man. It took two 40ft containers to ship the entire case order, made up of static displays, AV equipment and steelwork. Other unusual specialist designs have included large trunks for Alstom Power to house heating transformers and hydraulics for servicing steam turbines in generating stations.
The company has always tried to keep at the forefront of technology and innovation. Early 2005 saw them invest in 3D assembly and visualisation software. World-leading Solid Edge was chosen to integrate with existing CAD and CNC facilities and is now being 'rolled out' to clients and production, having been tailored to 5 Star's requirements by its technical department. With innovation in m
