Tooling specialist saved from administration by one of its ‘nearest competitors’

A Sheffield tool repair company has been rescued from administration by one of its “nearest competitors,” saving jobs and skills for the region.

Numill, based on Balaclava Road in the steel city, has been acquired in a joint venture between Wetherby based Northern Tooling Reclamation (NTR), which last reported an annual turnover of over £1m, and directors of Straaltechniek in Sheffield, Rebecca and Andy Allen, who have completed the deal as a private purchase.

Loss-making Numill employed ten people and the majority are expected to be retained after the acquisition. Numill, which had a turnover of around £350,000 and owed more than £600,000 to creditors, will become Numill Tooling Solutions under the new ownership.

Chairman of Northern Tooling, Martin Allison, said the acquisition meant that the firm could keep valuable and highly technical tool making skills in the region and that the purchase allowed NTR to enter more export markets.

Numill is a Made In Sheffield member, recognised by the Master Cutler for its contribution to the manufacturing sector. “We wanted to see those jobs saved and we want to see the business flourish,” said Allison

He added: “Numill was one of our nearest competitors and we were tracking the business over the last couple of years to see if we could do a deal with them. Despite a few conversations, they didn’t want to do anything.

“But it went into administration and that gave us a chance to put in a bid.”

Allison will remain chairman of the group and NTR’s CEO, Chris Weeds, will become the chief executive of the newly formed group. Allison said the group is looking to further expand and currently employs around 24 people at its Wetherby site, plus another five in a business in Thorpe Arch which it acquired around a year ago.

Allison added: “We wanted a South Yorkshire base and this fundamentally gives us access to different sales agents, as well as different and more exporting opportunities.

“We are growing and this is part of our buy and build strategy. We are looking to grow further and also continue to create a quality engineering business where we train future generations.”

One potential export market they could focus on more through the new venture is Finland. Allison added that the firm was proud to be a “Brexporter” – making sure that goods are exported beyond Brexit.

Clarion advised on the acquisition.

 

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