CASE STUDY: Escudero - A vibrant and affordable place to live

31st October 2022

The world was his oyster but Carlos Escudero soon realised Telford offered the perfect location for his family and growing business.

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Carlos Escudero admits it took ‘extensive research’ to find the ideal home for both his family and business. That’s hardly surprising given he could have chosen anywhere in the world.

Carlos, who hails from Argentina, spent more than 15 years working for a variety of companies in automotive and mechanical development before setting up his own firm.

Escudero Auto specialises in taking cutting edge mechanical inventions all the way from initial concepts to market-ready products for clients all over the globe. Examples include an urban e-bike and several media products.

The enterprise had grown to have an office in Southampton and small bases in Argentina and Italy and had reached a critical point, Carlos explains.

‘We’d been focused on mechanical design and prototype services and were getting to the stage where we would be manufacturing so I wanted to put it together in one place. I used to live in the Midlands and knew about the region’s strong background in manufacturing, so I started looking across the area.’

But the search wasn’t just about finding the ideal location to grow a business – it also had to be right for his family.

Carlos and his wife remembered visiting Telford for the annual balloon fiesta a few years earlier and how they’d been amazed by the experience.

‘We said at the time, this is a wonderful place. Last year we visited again to look for places for the family and business and had the same feeling.

‘I contacted the council to find out about business premises and they told me about Ni Park in Newport. The first time I visited I thought, wow, this is the perfect place for my business – the right sized unit in a nice area with lots of green space, well-connected and close to agri-tech businesses, which is one of the ideal growth areas for my company.’

Carlos found a family home in Telford and his children are now settled at local schools.

‘We have all we need in Telford. Just a few minutes away we have museums, cinemas and so many other activities, the shopping is amazing and we love the parks and green spaces.’

He describes the process of relocating his family and business as ‘super smooth’.

‘We got such a quick response from the council and it was so easy to set up meetings with business groups and Harper Adams University, whose graduates I hope to employ in the future.

‘It’s exactly what small companies need. You have to keep the wheels turning and Telford has been the perfect place, from the specification of the unit to everything else – it’s straightforward, no bureaucracy.’

He adds: ‘We didn’t have any ties so we could have gone anywhere. It was just our choice and after extensive research we decided on Telford.’