Oil and gas recovery boosts orders for William Cook

The William Cook group is capitalising on a recovering oil and gas sector after seeing an increase in new orders for its specialist cast products from customers across Europe and Scandinavia.

The company is reporting “a lot of positivity in the market” and an upturn in enquiries for heavy engineering work at its newly modernised site in Sheffield.

The oil and gas sector is emerging from the deepest slump in a generation and appears to be in the early stages of a cyclical expansion, according to Reuters.

The gradual increase in oil prices and drilling activity is driving demand for Sheffield-based William Cook’s high-specification castings in specialist alloys.

The sixth-generation family company has benefited from the collapse of weaker rivals, picking up customers from two failed foundries in the North of England.

William Cook owns and operates some of the largest steel foundries in Europe.

Earlier this year, the group completed a £20m investment at its Sheffield and Leeds sites to remain at the cutting edge of design and manufacturing capabilities.

These combine the latest 3D printing, machining and investment casting technology to allow the rapid manufacture of complex components of unprecedented size and accuracy.

The group is also a partner of the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, a collaboration between world-leading industrial groups.

Chris Seymour, managing director of William Cook Holdings, said: “We are seeing an increase in new orders and a lot of positivity in the market.

“Enquiries are coming from new and existing customers primarily in the oil and gas sector.

“Many have destocked their inventories and are now investing for growth.”

The new orders are worth a combined £2m a year. As well as new work for the oil and gas sector, William Cook is supplying projects including the building of a new Premier League football stadium in north London and a nuclear waste facility in Cumbria.

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