Historic manufacturer posts record year with a little recruitment help from MET

A Black Country manufacturer that has its products installed in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, The Shard and Birmingham’s iconic Rotunda building has posted a record year.

Isaac H. Grainger’s, which is a market leader in the manufacture of raised access flooring pedestals, has seen a rise in sales after securing a surge of reshoring successes from abroad.

The 158-year-old Cradley Heath business has extended its long-standing relationship with MET Recruitment to help it meet increases in demand from customers in the UK and overseas.

This means that, at any one time, the firm could have tens of temporary workers sourced by the Dudley recruitment specialist, with some candidates vetted and supplied within a few hours’ notice.

Rebecca Grainger, Sales and Marketing Director Designate, commented: “We are one of the leading names in access flooring and the only UK manufacturer of flooring pedestals, and this unique position gives us an immense sense of pride.

“An access floor has almost become a necessity in offices, commercial spaces, data centres and sporting stadium owing to their unmatched convenience and benefits. With Covid-19 making people rethink the lengths of their supply chain, there is a groundswell of customers choosing suppliers closer to home.”

She went on to add: “Sales are up, and we’ve increased our core workforce to just over 65 people, nearly half of which have been sourced by MET as they know the culture of our business and the type of individuals that will fit what we are trying to achieve.

“We’ve worked with the agency for 14-years and they really have been incredible. Their advisors know our business better than anyone and this is reflected in the quality of staff they find and send to us. In the last six months alone, we’ve turned twenty temporary workers into permanent employees.”

Now in sixth-generation family ownership, Isaac H. Grainger’s has ambitious plans to build on the recent growth by diversifying its engineering expertise to look at new tubing products for UK and international opportunities.

Driving this strategy is investment in latest machinery and extensive growth and improvements at its Gawne Lane factory, as well as the pending launch of a more interactive website and proactive marketing campaigns.

“There’s no reason why we won’t have our best year in sales yet and we’ll need to constantly attract new talent,” added Rebecca, who is joined in the business by her father Robin, sister Amelia, uncle Ivan and cousin Nathan.

“This means we’ll need more operators, assembly line workers, maintenance technicians and customer service representatives to join the team, all roles that MET Recruitment have found for us in the past and will continue to supply.

“They were superb during the pandemic, and we’ve built a strategic partnership with them that stretches beyond the shopfloor and into working together to support the local communities we both operate in.

“Ultimately, we want people to join our Grainger family and have formed a concreate relationship with MET along the way.”

MET Recruitment’s Matthew Hunter added his support: “Isaac H. Grainger’s was one of our first clients when Robin Tong set the business up in 2008 and I’m delighted we’re still supplying them with workers 14 years on.

“There’s a lot of issues with the labour market currently and firms are struggling with filling positions. Our 500-strong pool of candidates means we always have access to staff – at varying skills levels – to overcome these challenges and give clients real flexibility in their workforce.”

Originally set up to supply staff to the mechanical and electrical trades, MET Recruitment has gone from three people in a small office on the Pensnett Trading Estate to a 23-strong agency operating from a dedicated head office on Wolverhampton Street in Dudley and The Permanent Staffing Hub on the Waterfront.

Investment in its 360 degrees recruitment solution for clients and an industry-best support infrastructure for candidates has helped it secure a strong client base across engineering, manufacturing and professional services.

(l-r) Adam Wheeler (MET Recruitment), Rebecca Grainger (Isaac H. Grainger’s), Angelika Chmielewska (MET Recruitment)

Daily Express – 24/03/2022 – Chancellor’s Spring Statement

Our Managing Director Robin Tong featured in the Daily Express with his reaction to the 2022 Spring Statement, along with other experts in their fields.

The article goes into detail to see if Rishi Sunak (Chancellor of The Exchequer) went far enough to support an economy besieged by unprecedented price increases, as well as a labour market that cannot fulfill demand.

Take a look below to read Robin’s thoughts.

Daily Express – 24/03/2022 – Pages 8-9.

MET Recruitment invests £300,000 into new ‘permanent staff’ hub in Dudley

A significant rise in demand for permanent staff has seen a Black Country recruitment specialist press the button on a second office at the Waterfront in Dudley.

MET Recruitment, which is on course to hit £9m turnover by the end of the financial year, has invested over £300,000 into launching its dedicated hub that will help companies tackle the severe recruitment shortage they are currently facing.

Commercial Director Nella Share will be heading up the new operation alongside Stella Wakeham and Sarah Nicholson, bringing with them over 30 years’ experience in placing commercial and skilled/technical staff, with the trio set to be shortly joined by three new members of staff.

Together, the team will look to increase the number of people it places in permanent roles from 80 to 200, with a specialist focus to be placed initially on finance, HR and IT.

Nella said: “The Permanent Staffing Hub will be a shared space where our experts can collaborate and bring together a key set of people and skills under one roof.

“Hundreds of clients and candidates will benefit from a ‘vertical markets’ focus and what we mean by this is that our consultants will be laser focused on the area of recruitment that matters most to the customer benefitting from insight, expertise and knowledge you don’t usually get with most firms in our sector.”

She went on to add: “We chose the Waterfront because it is a prime location for access to other local businesses, as well as being accessible for the consultants on a day-to-day basis.

“There is also an abundance of free parking, excellent facilities on the doorstep and a picturesque view. All of the above means we are creating a fantastic place to work for the current and new team members, but also an ideal location for clients to visit and attend meetings.”

MET Recruitment was originally set up to supply staff to the mechanical and electrical trades and has gone from three people in a small office on the Pensnett Trading Estate to a 20-strong agency operating from a dedicated head office on Wolverhampton Street in Dudley.

The company’s growth has been led by MD Robin Tong and assisted by two key appointments, with Matthew Hunter joining in 2011 to head up the industrial division and Nella Share arriving three years later to create the commercial recruitment arm of the business.

Investment in its 360 degrees recruitment solution for clients and an industry-best support infrastructure for candidates has helped it secure a strong client base across engineering, manufacturing, professional services and the services sector.

Nella concluded: “Following the easing of lockdown, we have seen a surge in the number of companies growing and taking on staff, necessitating the need for more permanent staff.

“We have been supporting our clients to ease their recruitment issues but felt that an even more concerted approach was needed and investment in our new Permanent Staffing Hub proves that.


“It’s an approach that is already working, with one of our biggest success stories so far being finding 50 staff for Dreams’ distribution and manufacturing facilities in the Black Country.”


Caption for MET Recruitment Waterfront (L): (l-r) Nella Share, Sarah Nicholson and Stella Wakeham (all MET Recruitment)

MET delivers ‘sweet recruitment’ dreams for bed and mattress manufacturer

MET Recruitment has overcome the national shortage of staff to recruit more than 100 employees for the UK’s leading bed specialist in the last few months, with another 50 of them recently progressing to become permanent workers.

It’s a fitting way to bring up a near 10-year partnership that has seen both companies work together to find general production operatives, fork-lift truck drivers, warehouse staff, seamstresses, tape edges and drivers’ mates.

Since the start of 2021, 110 individuals have so far progressed into permanent positions once they have completed a 12-week trial where they can learn the role and see if they fit into the culture of the business.

“MET Recruitment really get what we do and, over the last decade, have built a strong partnership with us,” explained John Botfield, production manager at Dreams.

“At any one stage we could need up to 100 temporary workers across different areas of the business and we know they have the candidate pool and understanding of our roles to find the right people. Importantly, they also put their own consultant on site at the start of shifts, so that is one thing less for us to think about.”

He continued: “We have been very busy since lockdown and will shortly be embarking on another recruitment drive.”

MET Recruitment, which provides industrial and commercial staff to companies across the UK, started working with Dreams in 2012, providing extra labour support in the despatch department after an existing supplier was struggling to find workers.

The relationship has developed rapidly and now stretches across production and distribution at the firm’s sites in Oldbury, Smethwick, Tividale and Wednesbury, with up to 100 temps recruited and supplied during peak times.

Three experienced consultants work on the account and have built a clear understanding of the type of individuals Dreams require and have a bespoke vetting process in place that means a high percentage of temporary workers become permanent staff.

They are also present on site twice a day – at 6am and 3pm – to ensure the right number of people arrive and all new starters are briefed on job roles and health and safety guidelines.

Matthew Hunter, industrial director at MET Recruitment, added: “We have almost become an extension of the HR team, and this has delivered some fantastic staffing results during what has been an extremely difficult environment.

“In addition to our core advertising, face-to-face interviews and job matching services, we also complete induction, site walk arounds and dual advertising to try to raise as much interest as possible. This has been critical in ensuring levels of supply do not drop, even when there are a lot less candidates out there.”

MET Recruitment, which is on course to hit £9 million this year, was originally set up to supply staff to the mechanical and electrical trades and has gone from three people in a small office on the Pensnett Trading Estate to an 18-strong agency operating from a dedicated head office on Wolverhampton Street in Dudley.

The company’s growth has been led by managing director Robin Tong and assisted by two key appointments, with Matthew Hunter joining in 2011 to head up the industrial division and Nella Share arriving three years later to create the commercial recruitment arm of the business.

Investment in its 360 degrees recruitment solution for clients and an industry-best support infrastructure for candidates has helped it secure a strong client base across engineering, manufacturing, professional services and the services sector.

John Botfield, Stefano Ferrandino (both Dreams), Adam Wheeler, Kate Silk (both MET Recruitment) and Sima Tuzinaite (Dreams)

MET Commercial Director Nella Share part of Black Country Think tank announced at conference

A new Black Country Think Tank, which will publicise key economic issues and solutions whilst delivering thought leadership for the region, has been announced by the Black Country Chamber of Commerce.

The business support organisation welcomed leaders to its major economic business conference and the Think Tank’s inaugural meeting took place for leaders to discuss the key issues and topics the group will focus on over the coming months.

The Think Tank, created by the 160-year-old chamber, will generate awareness and leadership on key economic issues which affect not just chamber members, but the wider region as a whole.

Chamber president and chairman of the Black Country Think Tank, Jude Thompson said: “​This new Think Tank will set focus for our policy work, inform what and how we lobby decision makers on and use the incredible wealth of local business knowledge to seize opportunities. Our Chamber has sat at the heart of the local business community since the 1800’s and this new group will make sure we remain modern, focused and a powerful business led voice for a long time to come.

“The room was energised by our debate during the inaugural meeting this week and as a result, our policy work for next year we will focus on skills, the region’s transport issues and how we work to promote the image of the Black Country. The chamber has a commitment to connecting, supporting and representing its members and this new Think Tank will widen its work and see benefits for the Black Country as a whole.”

The role of the Black Country Think Tank will be to ensure political engagement and play a proactive role to sit in the driving seat whilst using the vast expertise of its membership.

Business leaders, academics, and various experts from many fields have joined forces with the Chamber including leaders from a number of Chamber members; CSCM, BCRS Business Loans, Paycare, Walsall College, In-Comm Training, Merry Hill, Wedge Galvanising, Simworx, Thomas Dudley, Lawrence Cleaning, KMB Shipping, MET Recruitment, Nant Ltd, MHA Macintyre Hudson and the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership.

Link to Article – https://www.expressandstar.com/news/business/2021/11/15/think-tank-announced-at-conference/

The launch of the Think Tank

Recruitment firm invests in finding new solutions to solve a growing lack of temporary workers

One of the Black Country’s fastest growing recruitment agencies is pressing the button on further expansion by creating five new jobs.

MET Recruitment, which recorded £5.8million sales last year, is looking to recruit consultants and resourcers to boost its 18-strong team after demand from clients in the administrative, distribution and manufacturing space rocketed.

Specialising in temporary and permanent industrial, commercial and technical staff, the company continues to place more than 500 workers every day and that figure could increase by 200 if there was a bigger candidate pool.

“In the twenty-five years I’ve been involved in the sector, I don’t think I’ve seen such a shortage and it is beginning to cause issues for firms that are looking to bounce back from the pandemic and need access to temporary workers,” explained Robin Tong, Managing Director at MET Recruitment.

“We are having to educate our clients to the current situation as this is a regional, possibly national issue. It’s not all doom and gloom, there are things we are jointly doing to mitigate the challenge, but it takes additional time and more up-front work to really drill down on the detail of the roles and what they involve.”

He went on to add: “Our team of consultants are already working even closer with clients to encourage them to take a longer-term overview of their skill needs and asking them to look at how they make the position more attractive, whether that is actual pay rate or benefits of employment.

“We’re playing our part by investing in expanding our team and introducing a new app that will make managing candidates even easier.”

MET Recruitment was originally set up to supply staff to the mechanical and electrical trades and has gone from three people in a small office on the Pensnett Trading Estate to an 18-strong agency operating from a dedicated head office on Wolverhampton Street in Dudley.

The company’s growth has been driven by two key appointments, with Matthew Hunter joining in 2011 to head up the industrial division and Nella Share arriving three years later to create the commercial recruitment arm of the business.

Investment in its 360 degrees recruitment solution for clients and an industry-best support infrastructure for candidates has helped it secure a strong client base across engineering, manufacturing, professional services and the services sector.

Robin went on to add: “One quick fix for the situation could be the Government relaxing freedom of movement, but I don’t think any of us can see that happening anytime soon.

“So, the emphasis will be firmly on recruitment firms innovating and our clients looking more strategically at how they address demand and future skills requirements. It’s a careful balancing act, but one we’ll get right.”

For further information, please visit www.metrecruitment.com or follow @met_recruitment on twitter


(l-r) Nella Share, Matthew Hunter and Robin Tong

Birmingham Post – Feature Article.

Our Commercial Director, Nella Share featured in The Birmingham Post’s article on predicting how the next 12 months and the aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic will change the outlook businesses have on things such as recruitment and remote working.

To read the article in full please click on the link below.

Remote learning, hybrid working and hitting the bars – Birmingham business leaders make predictions for the year ahead…

From top left: Ruth Pipkin from Rewired PR, Tim Pile from GBSLEP, Nella Share from MET Recruitment, David Pardoe from Mailbox, Michele Wilby from Colmore BID and Brian Cape from SIPS Education