A traditional manufacturing supplier in Coventry is pumping out orders across the globe thanks to the worldwide web. The Hydraulic Centre, which is based in Torrington Avenue, has just overhauled its website and improved its search engine optimisation and is already reaping the benefit.

The company enlisted the help of Coventry-based IT firm Computime – which recently merged with Coleshill company Acutec – to help redesign its website. The new site – www.hydraulic-centre.com – went live at the turn of the year and business for the 27-year-old firm has already been given a boost with orders coming in from all over the world.

The company, which supplies and repairs hydraulic parts for a range of industries including the automotive and rail industry, has won new business across Europe including France, Romania, Greece and Scandinavia thanks to clients finding them on the web. That’s partly down to optimisation which helps companies improve their rankings on search engines such as Google when certain keywords are typed in.

Phil Roxburgh, managing director of the Hydraulic Centre, said: “Most industries have been hit by the current economic climate so you have to look at every way possible to generate new leads. “Our new site is certainly doing that. Since we went live at the turn of the year we have seen a great upturn in the number of enquiries. It’s difficult to put a figure on the amount of new business we have achieved thanks to the website and the fact that we are now further up the search engine rankings, but we’ve definitely had more orders – particularly from overseas. The fact that we sell new and also repair means potential clients can find us on two fronts on the web.”

John Dixon, the founder of Computime, said other businesses should follow suit. He said: “This is a great example of a company using the internet to boost its bottom line. They have had great feedback on the site and we have optimised it to ensure they are high on search engine rankings. It’s a must for all companies now because so many potential clients – particularly overseas – are searching for suppliers this way.”

Pictured: Phil Roxburgh (left) with John Dixon.