New era for engineer Wheelabrator

INTERNATIONAL engineering group Wheelabrator, which has a major operation in the North West, has merged with Danish business DISA to create a £340m global group.

The company, which has its European base in Altrincham, Greater Manchester,
specilalises in the preparation of metal surfaces for industy.

Its key markets are aerospace, automotive and the medical equipment sector.

DISA, an industrial mouldings group, was recently bought by Mid Europa Partners, which also owns Wheelabrator, and has brought the pair together under a new parent company, Norican Group.

Clifford Parr, president and chief operating officer of Wheelabrator Plus, the parts and service arm of Wheelabrator, told TheBusinessDesk the merger would give the business greater scale and open up new markets.

He said the Altrincham base, on Craven Road, where 40 people are employed, would not be affected by the merger.

He explained:”In simple terms what we do is treat metals to make them lighter and stronger, examples would be the springs used in a car’s suspension or in an aeroplane’s landing gear.

“Yes, we are in tough times, but we are committed to the UK and the North West.
Our customers are focusing on how to come out of recession and we are helping them to do that.”

“The North West and the UK has always been strong for engineering talent, and we will be there to support it.”

He said that when Mid Europa bought Wheelabrator in 2005, it had bought into the its vision of growing the worldwide business, and the DISA merger would help achieve this.

Globally he said US-based Wheelabrator had had to cut costs due to weaker demand in its key markets, but only a  “handful” of jobs had been lost in this country.

As well as Altrincham the company has sites in Coventry, Birmingham and Slough.