CASE STUDY
Clarendon Speciality Fasteners
Developing two senior leaders and driving a Queen’s Award-winning business from £45m towards a £100m turnover goal.
Key Improvements working with James
Exponentially increased turnover
Acquiring complementary businesses
Expanded team structure
Better work-life balance
About the business
Clarendon Speciality Fasteners (CSF) was founded in 1982 to fill a niche in the engineering industry: supplying seals and fasteners and providing the highest level of service to customers. They have built a reputation for specialist knowledge and technical support, with particular emphasis on aerospace fasteners and associated products — carefully selected to meet the wide diversity of customer requirements, as well as meeting international standards and specifications.
In 2001, CSF was acquired by Diploma PLC. Since then it has grown organically as well as strategically, acquiring complementary businesses including Amfast (2012) and Speciality Fasteners (2014), which helped broaden the product portfolio and strengthen market position in their chosen markets of Aerospace, Defence, Motorsport and Industrial. CSF now has locations in the UK, Germany, Thailand and the USA. In 2019, Clarendon Speciality Fasteners was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Excellence in International Trade.
The challenge
Paul Sanders first joined the company as Sales Manager in 2002, and has been part of — and witness to — the growth and changes CSF has experienced over two decades. He worked his way up through the company, taking over as Managing Director in March 2021. His colleague Nick Tuck, Commercial Director, is relatively new to the business, having joined in November 2020.
What they have in common is stepping into the two biggest, most responsible roles in the company at a time when the business community was dealing with the effects of the Covid pandemic and subsequent cost-of-living crisis. CSF is an exceptionally fast-growing business with a strategy of growth by acquisition — most recently CR Systems (December 2019) and, under Paul’s leadership, Aircraft Hardware West (AHW) in September 2021 — employing several hundred staff worldwide.
Both men needed to grow into their roles, develop their leadership identities, and deal with challenges they hadn’t faced before.
James’ input and developing their roles
Both new to their posts, Paul and Nick had to adjust not only to their individual roles but to working with each other. They felt they needed to invest in their own leadership development. Paul met James on LinkedIn and began working with him in early 2022.
Although Paul had been with the company for more than 20 years and knew it inside out, moving from Sales Director to Managing Director of an international, multi-million pound organisation with hundreds of staff requires a very different mindset. James acted as a sounding board — allowing Paul to explore ideas, providing an outside perspective on issues, and helping him think like a CEO.
Paul then introduced Nick into the coaching process so that Nick could align to the progress being made and ensure they were both speaking the same language. James subsequently worked with both men individually and together, through Zoom and in-person meetings.
James acted as a trusted advisor, asking difficult, probing questions that challenged and focused their thinking — and encouraged them to challenge each other’s thinking too. He provided a forum to work through matters before they were brought to parent company Diploma PLC.
James helped both Paul and Nick develop as people managers as well as business leaders — focusing on accountability and responsibility, and helping them elevate their teams to oversee new developmental strategies including further global geographical expansion, quarterly milestone objectives on the road to their £100m goal, and evolving their Target Operating Model (TOM) with careful succession planning and talent retention.
The results
Under the leadership of Paul and Nick, Clarendon Speciality Fasteners is still thriving. Turnover has grew from £45 million to £65 million within 18 months, and the business is on course to reach £100 million. The acquisition of Aircraft Hardware West (AHW) in September 2021 further strengthened the group, and the Senior Management Team expanded with the appointment of Sarah Gregory as People and Culture Director in 2023.
James helped Paul and Nick develop their individual roles, work well together, and build a high-performing team capable of driving the business to its ambitious goals.
In their own words
“We always discuss a large range of topics regarding business priorities, with an informal agenda against business priorities, scaling up — and the sessions also give us an opportunity to share any challenges we face within the current landscape. James challenges us to think big with mutual collaboration and also puts things into perspective.”
Paul Sanders, CEO
“James has helped us think differently and challenge the pace of the business — it’s been a lot about the people. It’s given us balance and perspective. Now we even take some time out from the business!”
Nick Tuck, Commercial Director
“I really enjoy working with these two bright and capable guys. They listen, think and process all that we discuss during our coaching. They are a good team together and it’s been a great pleasure to see how they’ve settled into and developed their roles. Under their leadership, Clarendon Speciality Fasteners has an exciting time ahead!”
James Akin-Smith
Find support to steer your business forward
Are you looking for a way to move your business forward? James has worked with a wide range of businesses to help leaders gain the perspective they need to make better decisions. If you’re ready to gain experienced support and guidance, get in touch to start the conversation.
