DIVERSIFICATION. It may sound like clumsy jargon, but it is the holy grail of business in the 21st century.

With a staff of just 11, Gordon Engraving, of Roper Road, Canterbury, has proved that you do not need a large workforce to diversify and stay one step ahead. As well as engraving everything from chef's knives to shop signs and nameplates, the company supplies steel products and fabricates plastic.

Gordon Engraving has made signs for the St Lawrence county cricket ground, the John Lewis Group and Waitrose; made a perspex prototype toy, called Wordrop, for Qfree Games Ltd of Whitstable; and manufactured stainless steel engraved markers for Woodfield Systems, of Whitstable, which makes marine loading arms for oil rigs and harbours.

Still not diverse enough? Well, the firm made the perspex display cases for the successful Eagle Comic exhibition now touring the country; built the hanging photograph display cases used in all Kent Messenger Group offices; and has even made signs for the Sandringham estate.

"Diversification is the vertical integration of work," said owner Charles Gunther, who bought the company in 1970 as an impressed customer who saw the firm's potential. "The employees can work on any job. Although they have their own departments in which they are trained, they can work in any department.

"Each employee is a specialist but also flexible and skilled enough to work in other departments."

This multi-skilled workforce allows the company to accept an array of jobs which in turn has lead to a broad customers base of around 1,000 clients.

"You have to try and produce something that is different and be open-minded as to what jobs to take on," said Mr Gunther. "It is because we have done this that we are still here. No many of our jobs are repeats and therefore we are always doing something different."