Industrial group’s deal saves 550 manufacturing jobs

A deal with administrators has been done for manufacturing group Amtek UK that has saved 550 jobs.

Liberty House Group, which has previously bought a number of distressed industrial companies including Covpress, Caparo, Shiftec, and the speciality steels division of Tata Steel, has stepped in to take over two Amtek businesses.

King Automotive Systems includes 230 staff at its Coventry factory, which processes aluminium and iron components for engines and transmissions, and 60 people at its aluminium die castings plant in Kidderminster.

A further 260 people are based at a second castings plant, in Essex, which is part of Amtek Aluminium Castings (Witham).

Though it had a strong order book and a market-leading position, Amtek UK struggled under the weight of debt and cash flow difficulties.

This deal strengthens Liberty’s position at the forefront of the British automotive sector as a Tier 1 supplier to virtually all of the major car manufacturers and gives it capacity to supply a wide spectrum of aluminium and steel parts.

Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of the Liberty House Group said: “Despite current challenges, this operation is a valuable asset and a vital part of the UK and EU automotive supply chain.

“We are very pleased to use our resources and extensive experience in the automotive sector to rescue this enterprise and enable it to recover and reach its true potential.”

During the past three years, the business has benefited from a multi-million-pound investment programme in new equipment, including an advanced casting facility at Kidderminster and enhanced machining capacity at Coventry.

The business, which will in future be known as Liberty Aluminium Technologies will form part of Liberty’s growing network of metal manufacture and engineering businesses.

Liberty sees Amtek’s product range as complementing its other automotive engineering plants in the West Midlands, its Speciality Steels business in Yorkshire, which also supplies the sector, and its aluminium smelting operation in Scotland.