A Birmingham manufacturer which works with Formula 1 teams has merged with a precision engineering firm.

Innovate 2 Make (i2M) is based in Kings Norton and specialises in 3D metal printing while Newbury-based Progressive Technology is a precision machining firm.

The new business will be called Progressive Technology - Advanced Manufacturing and says it is targeting more than £2 million of additional sales in its first year together, with the possibility of ten new jobs being created.

i2M launched in 2012 and is led by Mike Kelly and Ian Campbell, supplying prototypes and low volume production capacity for aerospace, automotive, defence, F1 and medical sectors.

Progressive Technology was founded in 1977 and has grown from a small toolmaking business into a supplier of components to Formula 1 teams, supplying 80 per cent of the grid.

Mr Kelly said: "This merger is so exciting. We can now offer the end user a complete service, from using metal 3D printing in the initial production of the component to tapping into Progressive Technology's fantastic capabilities in Newbury.

"In the short-term, we will continue to operate out of Birmingham but there may be opportunities later on to consolidate all of our activities under one roof.

"Importantly, we had seen a huge amount of work offshored due to a lack of capability like the one we've just created.

"We'll now be working extremely hard to bring those contracts back home."

Progressive Technology's managing director Ross Pinchin added: "The merger is a natural progression of a working relationship that has been in place for a couple of years now.

"We have a number of shared customers who use us to manufacture parts for F1, with i2M providing the metal 3D printing expertise and our machining capability delivering the secondary operation.

"By bringing the two firms together we've created, what we believe, is the largest single source full service machining and metal 3D printing solution in the UK.

"It's a bold move but one that is already creating significant demand from customers who want easier access to this new technology, as well as the ability to reduce logistics costs, minimise supply chain disruption and shorter lead times for parts."