US parent set to close AGA foundry with loss of 35 jobs

The US parent of Midlands manufacturer AGA is to close one of the company’s foundries with the loss of 35 jobs.

Middleby Corporation acquired AGA Rangemaster, famed for its range cookers, in 2015 and there has been a scaling back of the business since then.

Last year, following a £20m loss, the company shed jobs at its base in Telford.

It has now announced the closure of the foundry in Coalbrookdale, which it has said is no longer viable.

The foundry has been casting the firm’s products for 70 years.

The company will now look to source its castings from cheaper operations both in the UK and in Europe.

Illinois-based Middleby, whose main business is food services, paid £129m in cash for the Warwickshire company in September 2015.

At the time, AGA employed around 2,500 people – with more than 2,000 of those working at its factories and offices in the UK.

Despite a positive 2014, with full year revenue and profits rising, fuelled by a boom in consumer spending, the company was being impacted by an increasing pensions burden.