Mechatherm achieves new record turnover

The record level of turnover was up from £16.5m for 2012-2013 and the company, which designs and supplies equipment for the aluminium and non-ferrous industrial sectors including furnances, casting machine and handling gear, has already got £20m of work on its books for 2014-2015.

The 41-year-old company is near to completing one of its biggest ever project in Taiwan.

Mechatherm, led by managing director Chris Emes, won the £12m contract to revamp a casting operation at Kaohsiung in the autumn of 2011 for the China Steel Aluminium Company.

Since the winning of the contract, which followed a year of negotiations, the numbers employed at the Black Country foundry and casting equipment design company have increased from 55 to 65 at present.

Sales and projects manager Stuart Allen said that the first phase of the Taiwanese project had been completed with all items of equipment installed and successfully tested.

Phase two on site construction and final commissioning is due to be completed within the next few months.

"The second phase involves two melting lines and a casting machine. We still have one melting furnace and one holding furnance to complete.

"We expect the second phase to come on stream within the next couple of months," said Mr Allen.

All the equipment was designed at Mechatherm's base at Hampshire House in High Street with all the construction and supervised installation work done on site.

Mechatherm has just completed a first cast under full automation control for phase two.

It was the only company in the world which could offer all the technology that was required by CSAC in house.

The company'a achievements in the field of exporting were recognised last year when it won the Black Country Chamber of Commerce's international trade award.

As the aluminium industry in the UK has declined, exports have become the core of Mechatherm's business and since 1990 have on average made up 85 per cent of its turnover.

Mechaterm's export markets include Indonesia, India, Sweden, Bahrain, Dubai, Russia and Venezuela and it has also has recently won major orders in Germany and the United States.

It has also forged close links with local schools, taking on regular work experience students, as well as with Birmingham University through the Knowledge Transfer Partnership. Staff are encouraged to support local community development and activity.

Exhibiting

Mechatherm will be exhibiting this autumn at international trade fair and conference Aluminium 2014, which is taking place in Dusseldorf from October 7 to 9 and brings together high-calibre buyers, manufacturers, processors and suppliers.

The Mechatherm technology for the construction of large aluminium furnaces is constantly improving and recent orders have molten aluminium capacities of up to 180 tonnes.

The increased recycling of aluminium worldwide and increasing sizes of furnaces has led to the record turnovers in recent years for the business.