Britain can prosper outside of EU, says engineering boss as global sales boom

THE managing director of a Hull engineering company, which has just announced more than £3m of global export orders with another £5m in the pipeline, says British business “doesn’t need the EU to be successful.”

AFOS is winning orders from across the world while the EU market remains slow and sluggish, according to Mike Sutton.

“Our performance demonstrates that British business doesn’t need the EU to prosper,” he said.

“We are very strong across a range of Commonwealth countries as well as the USA, the Middle East and Far East who all value British quality, innovation and customer service.”

AFOS supplies specialist equipment including smoking kilns and defrosters to the fish and food sectors and has a separate medical division which designs and builds mortuary and laboratory solutions.

Mr Sutton says: “We are winning business from EU countries such as Spain and Italy but overall we are finding the EU market is flat while in other areas of the world economies are stronger and businesses are keen to invest.”

AFOS is currently working with the Ministry for Health in Saudi Arabia to finalise orders for more than £5m worth of medical projects.

In addition, it has won £1m worth of orders for its defrosters from UK businesses in the sandwich, salad, ready meal and sushi sector from major groups including Adelie, Bakkavor, Greencore and Two Sisters Food Group.

Its smoking kilns are in demand from the hot smoked ready to eat market and has the business has just taken a significant order from a Canadian company.

The USA is a bouyant market with the company winning £350,000 worth of orders for its defrosters for the precision thawing of super frozen tuna, Mr Sutton said.

AFOS has a successful track record in Australia and is providing new defrosters for Perth-based fish processors Kailis.

The firm has also been commissioned to provide a processing plant delivering defrosting, filleting and smoking solutions for a customer in Dubai and awaits a similar £500,000 order from a leading Montreal-based supermarket group. It previously supplied a similar system for Morrison’s in the UK.

In Canada, its medical division has secured a six-figure project for Montreal-based university hospital CHUM and follows the successful completion of a similar project for McGill University Hospital also in Montreal.

Queen Margaret Hospital in Hong Kong has commissioned AFOS to provide new laboratories.

Mr Sutton added: “There has been too much scaremongering in the Brexit debate. Our experience shows the reality that Britain can prosper without the EU.”

AFOS has been operating for nearly 70 years and employs 22 people.