A Black Country manufacturer – 100% owned by its staff – has invested over £700,000 in a bid to increase its global customer base.
Alloy Wire, which makes round, flat, shaped profile and electrical resistance wires in a range of exotic nickel alloys, has set its sights on reaching £10m of annual sales by 2016 after it boosted its capacity across two sites in the West Midlands and Yorkshire.
The company recently put the finishing touches on an investment drive that has seen it install three Zwick tensile and hardness testing machines, PMI material x-ray guns, fully automated multi spindle spooling machine, a 5 metre strand annealing furnace and a bespoke wire finishing line.
This has given the firm the ability to double its capacity, improve accuracy and extend its capability to produce wire from 0.025mm to 21mm.
“We’ve had a really good time since the global recession, boosting turnover from £4.5m in 2009 to its current £8m level,” explained Mark Venables, Managing Director and leader of the management buy-out two years ago.
“Our success has been down to our ability to take on small batch quantities, fast response times and the fact we can manufacture in more than 60 different alloys, including Inconel, Nimonic, Incoloy, Hastelloy, and Ni-Span C902.”
He continued: “Now is the right time to build on that success and the significant investment we have made in extending the factory and equipping it with automation and state-of-the-art technology will help us offer an even better product and level of service.
“It’s not just capital we are spending money on. All our 25 staff receive ongoing training and are encouraged to learn new skills that can add value to the business.”
Established in 1946, Alloy Wire is a world leader in the manufacture of precision drawn round wire, flat wire and shaped wire in a comprehensive range of high performance and exotic Nickel alloys.
The company supplies wire from 0.025mm (.001”) to 21mm (.827”) and currently works with 4000 customers in 15 sectors.
Its extensive stockholding of materials, ability to provide small batch quantities and 2 to 3 week lead times has helped it establish a global reputation that sees the company’s products sent to more than 45 countries across the world.
Angus Hogarth, Sales Director, continued: “A lot of growth is coming from clients supplying into high value engineering, which is currently enjoying renewed investment.
“We are looking to build on our market share in nuclear and oil and gas, two industries which demand safety critical components that can withstand high temperatures and corrosive environments – ideal for what we supply.”
He continued: “Our success has not been built on price. We combine one of the largest material selections in the sector with world class manufacturing processes, technical expertise and lead times that are often half the industry average.
“It’s a successful formula that sees our wire used in anything from space exploration and model railways to electrical components and even cheese cutters used in supermarkets.”
As part of this year’s marketing activity, Alloy Wire has already exhibited at Houstex 2015 in the United States and will shortly be showcasing its capabilities at the SPE Offshore Europe Conference in Aberdeen and SMI Metal Engineering Expo in North Carolina in the US.
