British engineering and manufacturing business Avon Group is going from strength to strength under the entrepreneurial leadership of MD and owner, Mark Rushin
When Group Managing Director and sole shareholder Mark Rushin is asked to describe Avon Group in simple terms, he uses the phrase ‘a group of engineering manufacturing businesses that are all intrinsically linked through rubber, fiber, foams, sponge and plastics.’ By way of introduction, it sums up the group perfectly, however, it doesn’t do justice to the company’s growth journey, the development and evolution of its products and services, or Mark’s tenacity in creating a business that stands where it does today.
The full history of Avon Group was covered in the pages of Manufacturing Today in 2021 (click here) so as we entered 2025, we talked to Mark to find out more about the last four years, and his ongoing strategy for success.
“Since it was founded in 1979, the Avon Group has seen 45 years of sustained growth,” he begins. “Various factors have created a strong foundation from which we have been able to ride recessions, survive a global pandemic and maintain our success despite the unpredictability of geo-political events. These include forming strong supplier partnerships, continually diversifying our product offering and growing the group through the acquisition of strong independent businesses. We have a huge commitment to production quality, efficiency and health and safety standards, have adopted the 6S production methodology and maintain high standards of compliance with recognized industry standards – ISO14001, IATF16949 and ISO 45001.
“We now have nine businesses within the Avon Group portfolio across the UK, plus distribution hubs in the US and SE Asia. What unites them all is a clear understanding of our markets and customer needs.”
Thanks to its organizational structure, the Group competes as a forerunner across various segments and provides state-of-the-art capabilities in tool design and production, 3D printing and prototyping, cutting, laminating and coating, plastic injection molding, rubber molding, thermo and vacuum forming as well as assembly of finished products. It is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of aerosol seals, and one of the UK’s market-leaders in the manufacture of automotive components. Furthermore, it is a market leader in the manufacture of a wide range of sealing, insulation, acoustic, filtration and protection products for industry. As a result, Avon Group works with some of the most demanding, quality driven customers in the world.
“We have several specializations across our automotive products offering, which include solutions for the interior and exterior of cars, including electric vehicles, off highway vehicles, motorcycles and large diesel engines,” Mark reveals. The most significant area is the design and manufacture of Noise and Vehicle Harshness (NVH) products. These assist in the reduction in vehicle weight, suppression of sound and vibration, improved thermal protection, and cosmetic or functional protection. Typically, products are molded, thermo or vacuum formed, die-cut, water-cut, laminated or bonded and are available in a massive range of different materials.
Avon Group also offers superior expertise in the design and manufacture of lightweight foam ducting products. These out-perform traditional blow-molded parts, as well as deliver the benefits of less weight, better performance and improved recyclability.
“In addition to the automotive segment, our aerosols business is the only aerosol seal manufacturer that manufactures the inner and outer seals that are both used inside an aerosol valve. These seals can be found in aerosols containing anything from chemicals, oils and lubricants to perfume and deodorant,” adds Mark.
What is common to all these disciplines is high levels of engineering design, materials knowledge and manufacturing expertise. This is evident across all divisions of the Group, which also manufacture products for other wide-ranging industrial applications such as heat protection and insulation, acoustic insulation, technical plastic and rubber moldings, packaging protection, and other specialist bespoke parts and components.
Maintaining a competitive position across the Group’s markets requires a strategy of continuous improvement, supported by astute financial management and an eye on profit. However, this doesn’t mean Mark is reticent when it comes to investment. “My vision is to have an engineering/manufacturing business that really champions high aesthetic, behavioral and quality standards. For me, that means continual investment. The business has always tried to put as much money back in as possible to ensure we have the right plant, equipment and machinery needed to deliver outstanding results. For example, we’re currently looking at AI in the area of quality control, to be able to achieve zero parts per million (PPM) in terms of the manufacture of some of our products. Working in the aerosol market has such a high requirement for safety – we manufacture over 12 billion seals every year for the global marketplace and need to find a solution to guarantee zero failures. Ideally, we need to inspect every single seal that we’re manufacturing, and up until now, finding the equipment that can move fast enough to check all our criteria has been very difficult. We currently use batch sampling, but we’re hoping with the use of AI, we’ll be able to find a way to inspect 100 percent of our products throughout the process.
“We have invested over £30 million over the last ten years and are set to spend at least another £3 million this year,” he confirms. “This level of investment is probably much more significant than a business of our size would ordinarily make relative to turnover.”
As part of his overall growth strategy, Mark hasn’t shied away from investing in other businesses. Most recently, automotive component manufacturer, Interflex has been added to the fold. Mark explains: “As a manufacturer of automotive insulation products and specialist die-cut and formed materials Interflex had significant synergies with Avon Group. The company fell into administration in 2024, and following our acquisition much of its machinery and many of its staff have been integrated into AER Stafford, our principal automotive plant, in the West Midlands. The management team and staff at Interflex bring additional engineering skills and capability to our group that will propel our automotive business forward at an even faster pace. It was an obvious and natural fit in a market that is looking for increased consolidation and scale.”
Mark continues with details of another innovation. “One of our recent and significant investments, at one of our plants that specializes in automotive NVH materials, has enabled us to solve a difficult issue for a major UK automotive OEM. Often when NVH materials are fitted into new vehicle interiors, they release small fiber particles into the air which settle in the cabin and are also unpleasant for the installer. With the new machinery, we have devised a way to cut and heat-seal all the open edges of the parts, eliminating this issue altogether.
“As we are also the UK’s only preferred converter of this specialist material (ThinsulateTM), manufactured by global giant, 3M, this gives our customers huge reassurance that we not only have an in-depth understanding of the material and how best to convert it, but can also guarantee continuity of supply to avoid any assembly line disruption.”
Despite this focus on investment and technology, the business still values its people above all. “We maintain a diverse, multidisciplined team and we provide them with many training and career development opportunities. We continue to reward our staff with annual pay increases to maintain our position not only as a quality employer but also to attract the best skills.
“We invest in technical and scientific skills, as well as the establishment of laboratory and testing facilities at many of our sites. We’ve found this is increasingly adding to our ability to offer a solutions-based approach and higher added-value to our customers.
“Additionally, we actively promote our strong corporate values of Care, Courtesy, Commitment, Responsibility and Pride,” he continues. “This is embodied by ‘The Avon Way’ – an initiative recently introduced to communicate these values to all our staff and our customers.
“We have just under 600 staff, and a staff retention ratio of about 90 percent across our entire group. I’m very, very proud of that. I would like to think that this comes from looking after our staff both at work and outside of the business.”
This highly principled approach extends further as the Group has pledged to work towards achieving the United Nation’s 17 sustainability goals and created various initiatives to do so. These include closely monitoring and reducing power consumption and reducing production waste “We have made investments in solar power generation, as well as more energy efficient equipment where this has environmental benefits and pay backs are certain,” Mark adds. “We are working hard to meet our customers’ own agendas for increased sustainability in the supply chain.
“In order to meet our wider social responsibility agenda, we also work within our local communities to try and make a difference. Our nominated group charity is Children’s Hospice South West, to whom we make regular contributions. We also fundraise for other children’s charities and cancer research. We’re keen to encourage sponsored activities among our staff and always consider match funding when they make the effort.”
As the business begins 2025, everyone is excited for what’s next. “We are in great shape, with a well invested business and a stable workforce with the right attitude. With significant cash reserves and strong stakeholder support, we know we have the firepower to take the business to the next stage,” Mark confirms.
An important facet of this next stage will be strengthening its brand awareness this year by enhancing its profile and improving communication through high-quality marketing. “Our goal is to position our brand as a symbol of world-class quality,” asserts Mark. With a dedicated brand strategy underway, new messaging and stronger visual imagery is being adopted across the business and included in digital, online and traditional customer communications. From a sales perspective this is targeted at diversifying the Group’s product offerings and obtaining better vertical integration with existing customers. “For example, one Group company may sell foam insulation for a customer’s product that also requires gaskets or molded plastic components that can be supplied by another one of our Group businesses. So, this strategy is about leveraging those additional opportunities and upselling where it can benefit customers.”
Remaining independent and under private ownership means Avon Group can maintain high levels of agility, a major benefit in today’s volatile markets. However, Mark credits the collective effort of the entire management team and his valued employees for the success of the business and emphasizes they are going to be the driving force behind the next wave of growth. “Everyone in the business is determined to achieve our goal of £100 million turnover, and it’s within reach,” he concludes.
Through its commitment to world class standards, continual investment, looking after its people and creating innovative, sustainable products, Avon Group looks set to further establish its position as a leading British manufacturer.