ELECTRONIC devices – ranging from those in heart monitors and jet fighters to computers and petrol pumps – often have one thing in common. That is highly reliable cable connections from Telecom Connections – the "taken-for-granted" pieces of wire linking them to the circuits they control.

Without those crucial links, manufactured by the million at the Giltbrook firm, even the smartest of microchips would be isolated and useless.

Now with a payroll of 22 – up by four over the past year – the company produces hundreds of different types and styles of cable assemblies.

And its success in making items most users take for granted has made it a candidate for the Nottingham Post's BioCity EMB-sponsored Notts Small Business of the Year Award.

Celebrating its 21st birthday this year, the company experienced a slight recession-enforced business downturn last year, but is now back on a growth curve again.

Managing director Steve Goff is predicting a turnover of around £1.6m for the current financial year.

"Sales to this July look like being about a third higher than in the previous year, and I expect net profit to have more than doubled," he said.

"That all vindicates our decision to move to larger premises 18 months ago and our recent £60,000 investment in a state-of-the-art wire-cutting and crimping machine."

Telecom Connections buys in various metal connectors and cables, and then cuts, strips and solders the components ready for use.

Through original equipment manufacturers – which include some of the largest in Europe – the precision connections are used in equipment made on a global scale.

"We grow with our customers, so our success really depends on how well they do," added Mr Goff. "Our recent investment in extra floor space and new machinery puts us in a good position to expand and keep pace with them, and we are confident of achieving our goals on that score."

The new machinery is the firm's largest investment in 20 years, and is designed to allow a major productivity boost.

It can cut, strip and crimp up to 4,000 wires an hour, almost three times the number achievable by skilled crimping operators.