Manufacturer secures new contract after £2m investment
A £2m machinery investment is driving sales past the £10m mark for a Black Country aluminium foundry and securing new contracts.
Alucast, which has increased its workforce by 20% to more than 120 people at its base in Wednesbury, has commissioned six CNCs, a HDTD low pressure machine and boosted its ‘new core’ capabilities.
The 800-tonne LK high pressure die casting machine can produce high integrity parts from a fully automated cell, reducing component handling and making the company more competitive overseas.
Thanks to the new machine, the business has already procured a new export contract worth £1.2m.
John Swift, CEO of Alucast said: “We have always taken a long-term strategic view on how we move forward and this, firstly, has helped us negotiate some tough economic challenges and, secondly, is now helping us take advantage of opportunities in automotive, electrification and hydraulic components.
“This is our largest investment drive in nearly a decade and reflects an increase in demand for our high/low pressure, gravity and sand casting expertise, not to mention our expansive machining capabilities.
“The latter is proving extremely important as we are offering added value services for a host of blue-chip tier 1s and the vehicle manufacturers directly. We’re offering them the security of supply they are crying out for.”
Alucast is a founding member of the Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN), a group of eight sub-contractors and an engineering design agency.
It’s made up of Alucast, Brandauer, Grove Design, James Lister & Sons, KimberMills International, Muller Holdings, Nemco and PP Control & Automation.
Collectively, the group boasts £100m+ annual sales, employs more than 1,000 people and exports products to over 50 countries from its 20+ factories.
MAN launched its MANifesto earlier this year to respond to what they call the government’s “faltering strategic vision” for industry.
Martin Haynes, managing director of Alucast said: “There are lot of opportunities out there for UK manufacturing, but many of them will require investment in new technology and people to make them a reality.
“At a time when interest rates are high, it would be great to see the Government act and do something to encourage and reward firms who are prepared to spend and improve their businesses.
“With the level of recent capital investment, we now have capacity in our foundries and will also look to push on with other value added services, including heat treatment, Non- Destructive Testing (NDT) and casting simulation.
“We’ll do the innovation; all the politicians need to do is give us a level playing field and economic conditions that don’t change every week.”
MAN can also call upon the R&D and technological expertise of Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), which has been an associate member since 2014.
