Manufacturer Meltog secures investment to bolster business
ONE of the UK’s largest manufacturers of waste recycling equipment, Meltog, has made a significant investment to take advantage of new overseas markets and drive innovation.
The West Yorkshire company has installed new machinery at its site on Copley Hill, Leeds. The £200,000 investment, supported by HSBC’s Leeds and Bradford Commercial Centre and the Regional Growth Fund (RGF), is part of a wider upgrade of the business’ infrastructure, which also includes additional office space and canteen facilities plus the creation of four new jobs.
Meltog also has packaging and filtration divisions, supplying to UK and international clients ranging from household brands to the Ministry of Defence.
Julian Heyworth, managing director of Meltog, said: “The new suite of Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) and general machining equipment features the latest technology and dramatically reduces Meltog’s reliance on outsourced manufacturers, which previously totalled around £2m annually. Not only are there cost benefits, but by retaining manufacture of key items in-house, we gain greater control to deliver to targets and improve customer service.
“We believe that our position as a British manufacturer in the shredding and waste management sector is an industry first.”
The purchase of this new suite of machinery reflects a period of significant growth for Meltog – turnover has doubled over the past 18 months and the firm is on target to achieve annual revenues of £5m by 2015.
Examples of recent growth markets include India and China. Meltog said China is now mechanising quickly, which has significantly boosted packaging and filtration divisions which now account for 50% of turnover.
In the waste recycling division, Meltog has recently developed the first all-British designed and manufactured range of mobile confidential shredding trucks. The modular platform is, according to the firm, believed to be the most sophisticated of its type and can shred paper as well as media, for the destruction of computer hard drives, to British Secret Service standards in a single unit.
In the packaging division, Meltog has completed an order from Italy for a machine which makes cans to hold 16oz of Beluga caviar, which the firm said is one of the most expensive foods in the world.
HSBC’s funding was provided through the bank’s Assisted Asset Purchase Scheme in a deal led by commercial manager Phil Briggs. The scheme is designed to support SMEs to grow their business and is supported by the RGF.
Briggs said: “Meltog is an innovative, forward-thinking company that is taking advantage of opportunities in growth markets such as China and India to grow its business. This is exactly the type of export-minded company the economy needs as it seeks further growth. We have been pleased to support this latest investment, which is helping to create jobs and drive innovation.”
Meltog was established in 1950 by two engineers named Melton and Ogley. The business was originally a precision engineering company, specialising in manufacturing components and supplying bespoke machinery to the textile industry.
