35 jobs lost as Derbyshire engineering firm goes under
35 jobs have been lost after a Derbyshire engineering firm ceased trading.
Rowlescourt Engineering, which was originally established in 1977 by John Lynegar and Ronald Collis, manufactured specialised point fittings, trackside furniture, signal equipment and rail vehicle components for the transport sector.
Yorkshire-based insolvency specialists Wilson Field were called into the firm after it experienced increasing pressure and competition within the market. Kelly Burton and Lisa Hogg were appointed as joint administrators for the company on October 23.
Clients of the 40-year-old Somercotes-based company, which employed 35 people and had a turnover of £1.21m in 2016, included Network Rail, Siemens, Tarmac ABB, Aspin Group and Global Rail Construction.
Its product range included location platforms, point fittings and the Polecat 570 CCTV surveillance camera column assembly all fully approved by Network Rail and unique to the railway’s trackside infrastructure. There are some 1,200 locations in which this product is located nationwide.
In addition to the freehold industrial and office premises on a 1.66-acre site at Clover Nook Road on Cotes Park Industrial Estate, a wide range of CNC and conventional machine tools and equipment, office furniture, PC’s and CAD equipment plus stock material are being offered for sale.
Interested purchasers can also buy the company’s intellectual property including a unique Network Rail approved product and a quality customer base.
Kelly Burton, director and insolvency practitioner at Sheffield-headquartered Wilson Field said: “Despite the previous successes of the company and its reputation in the railway industry, the business has come under increasing pressure within the market.
“Whilst it is always disappointing when jobs are lost, it also opens the door for new investors. This a rare opportunity to obtain a wide range of unencumbered assets which could have a number of applications. We are looking to conclude a sale as quickly as possible.”
The business, which was originally based in Pinxton, moved in the mid-eighties to its present site in Somercotes and gained a reputation in the quality design and manufacture of equipment for railway infrastructure.
The company also manufactured a range of rail vehicle components and assemblies including products ranging from such simple items as retaining catches for cupboard doors to complete power car end panels used on the channel tunnel shuttles.
Rowlescourt also offered an in-house project design service to assist customers with individual projects from initial design through to manufacturing and installation.
Asset disposal is being dealt with by Charterfields.
