When Jennie Banner looks back on the last 20 years at Banelec, she does not immediately talk about major contracts, nuclear infrastructure projects or global OEMs. Instead, she talks about family.
The business was founded in 2000, incorporated in 2005 by her husband, Dean Banner, during a period when the company was little more than determination, engineering expertise and relentless hard work. Dean was handling everything himself — sales, engineering, finance, management and customer support — often spending long periods working away on site.
Jennie, who came from a background in account management and logistics, saw both the opportunity and the strain.
“It needed somebody back at base to oversee the office and customer-facing side,” she reflects. “If I hadn’t worked with Dean, I don’t think I would ever have appreciated just how much he had to do to keep the business moving.”
That understanding shaped not only the company, but family life too.
“There were weekends, evenings and late nights constantly tied to the business. When you’re building something from scratch, it impacts the whole family.”
From modest beginnings in a small unit in Lye in 2000, moving to Brierley Hill in 2008, Banelec steadily evolved into one of the region’s respected names in electrical control systems, automation integration and specialist lifting solutions. Yet behind the technical growth was a deliberate effort to create balance.
When the couple’s children arrived in 2011 and 2012, Jennie’s day-to-day responsibilities shifted, but the business still required the same commitment and oversight. The answer, she says, was scaling through people.
“The biggest lesson was realising that growth comes from bringing in good people around you. That allowed the business to do more, but it also allowed us to be present for the important moments in family life — sports days, parents’ evenings, all those formative experiences.”
That philosophy remains embedded within Banelec’s culture today.
“We know we’re responsible for more families than just our own. Flexibility matters because people’s lives matter.”
Over two decades, Jennie has witnessed enormous shifts in both engineering and customer behaviour. The most dramatic, she says, has been how relationships and communication have changed.
“Covid accelerated a lot of it, but the demographic change was already happening. Relationships are more detached now. Younger generations often prefer to type more, message more and talk less.”
At the same time, technology has transformed the industries Banelec serves. Where engineers once had to travel offshore or into petrochemical facilities to monitor equipment in person, remote technologies, tablets and smart monitoring systems are increasingly doing that work in real time.
“In the past, phones often weren’t even allowed on some sites,” says Jennie. “Now information is relayed instantly back to monitoring systems, reducing the need to physically send engineers out just to observe machinery.”
Ironically, increased regulation and health and safety scrutiny — something Jennie jokes has “gone nuts” — has also fuelled opportunity.
“While bureaucracy can sometimes feel frustrating, ultimately it’s about keeping people safe and alive at work. The focus on reducing injuries, repetitive strain and unsafe lifting has created huge demand for assisted lifting systems and automation.”
That demand has positioned Banelec at the centre of major infrastructure and industrial investment programmes, from aerospace and offshore oil and gas to transport and defence. The company’s specialist aero engine fan case lifting systems emerged from the need to improve how large OEM components were handled safely and efficiently.
“As society has become more conscientious about safety and efficiency, whether reducing injuries or reducing environmental impact, it has naturally benefited businesses like ours.”
By 2018 and 2019, larger contracts and increasingly complex projects required a larger home, prompting Banelec’s move to its current, larger premises in Brierley Hill.
Today, the business operates across two distinct streams — repeat business involving crane components and panel repairs, alongside highly bespoke engineering projects for blue-chip manufacturers and critical industries.
For Jennie, the unpredictability remains one of the most rewarding aspects of the role.
“That’s what I love — you never know what opportunity could appear next. One week we’re working on nuclear infrastructure, the next we’re installing systems on oil rigs, in automotive plants or aerospace hangars in the Middle East.”
“You genuinely have to pinch yourself sometimes at the names we work with.”
She pauses briefly before adding: “If you’d told me 20 years ago where we’d be today and who we’d work with, I’d never have believed it.”
That reputation, she believes, comes not from selling products, but from partnership.
“We don’t just fix something and leave, or sell something and send it out. We handhold projects from start to finish. Customers often don’t fully know the best route themselves, so we consult with them and build solutions around their needs.”
Because Banelec does not rely on off-the-shelf products, every project contributes to an expanding bank of industry knowledge and capability.
“All of that experience across sectors comes together to create value.”
Looking ahead, Jennie sees significant opportunities emerging around Industry 4.0, smart factories and national infrastructure, particularly within the nuclear sector. Yet she is equally passionate about the future workforce behind British manufacturing. Banelec visits schools and colleges to encourage young people to consider careers in engineering — something Jennie feels the UK still struggles to promote effectively.
“We’re constantly told Britain has an ageing workforce and productivity challenges, yet there still aren’t apprenticeship pathways properly tailored to companies like ours. You’re either pushed towards mechanical engineering or electrical work, but there’s very little in between.”
She hopes businesses like Banelec can help expose young people to alternative career paths closer to home.
And while Jennie is conscious of her position as a female director in engineering, she is clear-eyed about how she views leadership.
“It would be easy to wave the flag about being a woman in industry, but honestly, I don’t see gender in business. The best roles should go to the best people.”
“Yes, the sector needs to do more. The government and educators need to do more. But for us, it’s about exposing everybody — regardless of age or gender — to the importance of manufacturing in the UK.”
For Jennie, perhaps the clearest measure of Banelec’s journey is seeing the company’s name appear on major global infrastructure projects.
“When I look back at where we started compared to where we are now, seeing our name associated with major nuclear, transport, aerospace, defence and offshore projects is incredible.”
“We’re known for project support, cradle-to-grave delivery and first-class service- whether its for a crane, a ship, power plant, a car production line or a luggage conveyor. And honestly, we can’t wait to see what the future holds.”