PRINTED circuit board manufacturer Flex-Ability is turning around its fortunes after overhauling its production facilities.

Flexible and innovation management, as well as new working procedures, have been at the heart of a programme to ensure the survival of the Hartlepool business.

The company, which employs 80 staff, realised that it had to change and innovate in order to reverse a monthly sales fall of £150,000.

When global downturns in the information technology (IT) and technical markets, along with a trend for electrical manufacturers to source from the Far East, sent company's profits into a downward spiral, Flex-Ability called in Business Link Tees Valley for help.

Dane Mills, financial director, said: "With the help from Business Link Tees Valley we employed the services of two specialist consultants to identify key areas of weakness and their effect on productivity."

On the advice of Graham Turner, innovation facilitator at Business Link Tees Valley, the company applied to Pioneer - the Regional Innovation Management Team of development agency One NorthEast - and was Innovation Action Fund and were awarded a £50,000 grant from its Innovation Action Fund.

The grant allowed Flex-Ability to produce an action plan to help it to cut wastage and enable the company to meet new challenges.

Dane Mills said: "Business Link has been extremely helpful and proactive.

"The Innovation Action Fund was extremely valuable to us, allowing us to bring in consultants to identify the issues requiring urgent attention."

The £3.9m turnover company now believes it has turned the corner and is winning new business again.

The volume of work has dropped, but sales are rising again and the company wins more complex work based around value added services.