Innovators focused on growth

At Forge, we choose to work with technical innovators pushing boundaries in complex industries, because their specialist expertise, commercial ambition and problem-solving depth make them genuinely exciting companies to help grow.

Some are solving engineering problems where failure is measured in microns. Some are helping regulated firms move faster with greater confidence. Others are changing how industries think about coatings, calibration, recruitment, optimisation, nanomaterials, fastening technology and financial decision-making.

That is what makes this group so interesting. These are companies with real technical depth, clear commercial value and the kind of specialist knowledge that helps their customers perform better, move faster and reduce risk.

We spend a lot of time understanding and articulating what makes our clients valuable. Their markets, their customers, their sales story, their proof points and the problems they solve. The deeper we get into that work, the more motivated we are to ensure these companies achieve maximum commercial visibility. 

So we wanted to introduce a few of them.

They are building better systems, stronger products and smarter ways of working across some of the most demanding sectors. We find them fascinating and awe-inspiring on a day-to-day basis. We think you will too.

Advanex Medical

Advanex Medical works in the places where precision engineering has no room for error. 

For medical device manufacturers, that means solving complex challenges in micro-pressing, wire forming, finishing, material selection, tooling and simulation, all under the pressure of strict regulation and clinical performance. 

Their work helps OEMs reduce scrap, eliminate particulates, improve durability and move through medical trials with greater confidence. 

The proof is in the numbers. On one project, Advanex Medical reduced rejection rates from 40% to near zero across 1.5 billion components. For critical medical innovation, that level of control can make all the difference, and that is exactly what Advanex Medical provides.

Advanex KATO

KATO® Advanex is changing what mechanical joints can do.

Their range of wire thread inserts help lightweight materials such as aluminium perform in demanding environments, improving strength, durability and reliability where every gram matters. By redistributing load and reducing stress concentrations, they give engineers a smarter way to design for performance without adding unnecessary weight and costs.

Their portfolio includes both traditional tanged inserts and Tangless® inserts, giving engineers the flexibility to match fastening performance with assembly and maintenance requirements. Tangless® designs eliminate the need for tang break-off and retrieval, helping reduce FOD risk whilst improving installation speed and serviceability.

For the range of industries under pressure to build safer, lighter and more sustainable systems, KATO Advanex offers fastening technology with a real engineering edge.

Bonafidee

Bonafidee helps regulated firms make onboarding faster, safer and easier to prove.

Its end-to-end platform brings identity verification,KYC data capture and advanced electronic signatures into one evidence-led workflow. Every stage is built to support compliance, from the first customer interaction through to document execution, reporting and audit.

With automation, real-time verification and clear audit trails built into the process, Bonafidee helps firms reduce risk, meet FCA Consumer Duty expectations and give customers a smoother, more secure experience.

For businesses where trust, speed and compliance all matter, Bonafidee turns onboarding into a controlled commercial advantage.

C&R Software

C&R Software helps financial institutions manage debt and delinquency with intelligence, speed and care.

Its Debt Manager platform supports the full debt lifecycle across 650+ debt types in more than 60 countries, with over $8T managed globally. Paired with FitLogic, it brings predictive analytics, machine learning, rules management, simulations and real-time data into the credit lifecycle.

That gives organisations a smarter way to segment customers, automate compliant outreach and personalise treatment strategies for customers that are genuinely struggling.

For lenders and financial institutions, C&R Software helps identify risk earlier, support customers sooner and prevent financial stress from becoming delinquency.

Chameleon

Chameleon helps senior talent leaders make sharper hiring decisions in complex markets.

Working across industrial, manufacturing, engineering, life sciences and supply chain sectors, it combines executive search, interim and project hiring, talent pipelining, competitor benchmarking and Recruitment-as-a-Service.

That gives CHROs and leadership teams the market insight and delivery support needed to solve critical hiring challenges at scale.

From nearshoring and decentralisation to engineering talent shortages and D2C transformation, Chameleon brings clarity, data and specialist reach to the recruitment process.

For businesses building high-performing teams in fast-moving markets, Chameleon turns talent strategy into a serious competitive advantage.

DM

DM provides laboratory-grade calibration directly into live industrial environments.

Its UKAS-accredited engineers work across a wide range of electrical and mechanical calibration parameters, helping quality and maintenance teams achieve traceable, ISO-compliant results without pulling critical equipment out of operation.

Outside of their accredited labs, they provide an on-site model that removes logistical friction, reduces downtime and gives teams expert insight at the point of use.

For demanding industrial and research applications, DM combines precision instrumentation with practical delivery. They are a perfect fit for engineers seeking reliable measurement, stronger compliance and greater confidence in the systems that keep operations moving.

Hardide

Hardide helps engineers push component performance far beyond traditional coating limits.

Their advanced CVD tungsten carbide coatings are deposited atom by atom to deliver extreme hardness, toughness and zero porosity, even across complex internal geometries. That means stronger protection against wear, erosion, corrosion and aggressive chemicals in the environments where reliability matters most.

Hardide coatings can extend component life by up to 250x and are already qualified by Airbus as a REACH-compliant hard chrome replacement. For aerospace, energy and industrial applications, Hardide gives teams a cleaner, longer-lasting route to higher-performance systems.

iGii

iGii has developed Gii, a proprietary 3D carbon nanomaterial that brings the capabilities of graphene to a scalable level.

That is a serious technical step forward. Graphene has long promised exceptional conductivity, strength and surface performance, but scaling it reliably has been the challenge. Gii changes that through a catalyst-free, transfer-free process that delivers high porosity, large surface area, strong electrical conductivity, mechanical flexibility and consistent batch-to-batch reproducibility.

With anti-fouling behaviour, biocompatibility and functionalisation without loss of electronic integrity, Gii gives teams a powerful platform for sensing, energy systems, next-generation biosensors and many more potential and exciting applications.

STRIDE

STRIDE turns deep engineering expertise into practical digital advantage.

The company combines CAE software, consultancy and training across defence, water, automotive and MedTech, helping technical teams solve complex modelling challenges with greater speed and confidence.

Its current focus, HEEDS for Water, brings Siemens optimisation technology into UK water modelling through STRIDE’s own API for InfoWorks ICM. That gives teams the ability to test thousands of scenarios, automate complex modelling processes and identify stronger cost-performance trade-offs.

With AMP8, spill reduction, DWMP planning and modeller shortages increasing pressure across the sector, STRIDE gives water teams a smarter way to turn optimisation into delivery.

Innovative companies deserve innovative attention

The companies featured here all have something important in common: they solve difficult problems with genuine commercial value.

That is exactly the kind of story we help businesses bring to market. We work with companies to clarify what makes them valuable, build sales-led marketing around that value, and turn technical expertise into stronger visibility, better conversations and real new business.

If you want more of the right people to understand what makes your business worth choosing, get in touch with us today. 

Alternatively, download The Forge Guide to Exit Readiness to see how you can set up sales and marketing systems that boost your enterprise value and buyers can trust.