Ace putting its best foot forward with expansion
Ace Orthotics, whose clients include professional rugby players and footballers, is expanding in a move that will significantly increase its manufacturing capacity and create 10 new jobs.
Backed by £50,000 from the Welsh Government’s Growth and Prosperity Fund, the company is investing in new equipment that will treble its manufacturing capacity and speed up production time to meet the growing UK-wide demand for its services.
The £116,000 total investment will see staff numbers rise from to 20 to 30, as well as safeguarding 12 jobs.
Ace Orthotics, trading as Ace Feet in Motion, was established by Bob Cooper in 2001 to provide biomechanical gait analysis, using state-ofthe-art dynamic pressure plates to help accurately assess movement through the foot and lower limb.
His sons Paul and Tom are also directors of the business.
Ace Orthotics provides specialist podiatric sports injury biomechanical services to the public and highprofile sports associations including the Welsh Rugby Union, Disability Sports Wales, Welsh Athletics, Welsh Netball and Cardiff City FC, as well as the NHS.
It has also worked very closely with the regional Welsh rugby teams and several Premier League football clubs.
Ace Orthotics’ clinical service is supported by a manufacturing arm that designs and makes all forms of modular and bespoke functional insoles, intended to correct an abnormal or irregular gait.
Its laboratory currently produces around 10,000 pairs of bespoke insoles every year, many of which are manufactured utilising state-ofthe-art CAD CAM technology.
However, 20% of them have to be made completely by hand as its machinery can currently only make insoles to a depth of 30mm.
This investment in new machinery will allow the manufacture of insoles up to 66mm in depth.
Thomas Cooper, clinical director at Ace Orthotics, said: “We have seen year-on-year growth and are experiencing growing demand throughout the UK for our products and need to invest to meet that demand.
“This investment is absolutely vital to take advantage of these opportunities and will speed up production, cut costs and enable us to both produce more quality products and win new business.”
In addition to providing specialist podiatry and sports injury biomechanical services, Ace also has a specialist footwear centre which is open to the public, selling specialist sports footwear and wider-fitting comfort footwear.
It has developed its own modular insole range – Feet in Motion insoles (FiMs) – as well as Paediatric FiMs, which have become the insole of choice for clinicians working with children across the UK.
Ace Orthotics is currently exploring the possibility of exporting this range across Europe and the business was part of an extremely successful Welsh Government Life Sciences Trade Mission to the Medica trade fair in Dusseldorf last November.
Economy Secretary Ken Skates said: “Ace Orthotics provides a highly specialised and bespoke service and is the only business of its kind in Wales.
“I am delighted Welsh Government support will help it expand, create new jobs and win new business.
“The expansion is vital for its longterm sustainable growth.”