Laser cutting firm invests £1.6m to become top sub-contractor

A BLACK COUNTRY laser cutting firm is outlining growth after investing £1.6m in new machinery.

Midtherm Laser has purchased the state-of-the-art Bystronic laser cutting and press brake machinery to further its aim of becoming one of the UK’s largest laser cutting sub-contractors.

The Dudley firm was started by managing director Richard Andrews in December 2000, operating with a single Bystronic laser cutting machine from the corner of a factory that he rented off his father.

Today, a £1.9m investment project is due to be soon completed; a project that includes an environmentally friendly designed building housing a fifth new laser cutting machine, a new press brake and extensive racking for storing sheet materials.

All this followed on from a three-quarter million pound investment in a fourth laser cutter and nitrogen generator in 2010.

David Wheatley, Midtherm Laser’s sales manager, said: “2012 is going be a very exciting year for the company. The whole team has worked hard to ensure that we exceed the expectations of our customers and it’s good to see our customer base growing year on year.

“We have listened to feedback from the market place and adapted the way we work to suit its specific needs. This includes investment in machines and infrastructure as well as a new estimation software package called IP Laser, which has already significantly reduced the amount of time it takes for us to submit a quotation.”

Investment has not been confined to hardware and premises.

In preparation for the new capacity, the company has recruited new staff.

Dean Cockayne, operations director, said: “Over the past two years we have been investing in new equipment to ensure that we stay at the forefront of our industry.
 
“However, we do not want to stand still; this is why we are making another significant leap forward in our recruitment policy.”