Spending spree

The company, headquartered in Birmingham, will purchase new equipment, including a plate saw, for its Manchester site, at a cost of more than £500,000. Other funds will be directed into further capital investment and a significant boost to the workforce.

The purchase of the new equipment will allow metalweb's Manchester operation to better service its customers in the defence, automotive, aerospace and medical sectors. The new plate saw, due to arrive in autumn 2011, will increase productivity and revenues by offering greater capacity from the site and improved leadtimes.

The new purchase is the latest example of the company's commitment to using state-of-the-art machinery – metalweb's customers are already benefitting from the significant efficiencies delivered by a waterjet cutting machine at its Oxford site.

Capital investment will also be put towards improvements in the IT infrastructure and expenditure has been allocated to bolstering the workforce at the Birmingham site. Eight new recruits have been appointed, with a plan to move to a double shift system from May 2011.

Derek Webb, metalweb's managing director comments: “Although reaching our 10th anniversary has been an immensely satisfying achievement, this £1 million investment demonstrates we are not content sitting on our laurels.

“In those ten years, metalweb has overcome both the September 2001 downturn and the more recent worldwide economic slump, and remained a major player in the UK market for high quality metals processing. Throughout that time, the exceptional standard of service metalweb provides has ensured our customers have remained loyal.

“Revenues have been on the rise since 2010, and we are confident that our increased investment, together with our ability to supply products under our AS9100 approval, will underpin this positive trend.”

Metalweb began life in 2001 as a management buyout of the industrial services division of Apollo Metals. The company transformed from a loss making business with substandard equipment to one which had more than doubled sales turnover by 2005 and its improving financial performance and reputation for excellent service attracted the attentions of Reliance Steel and Aluminum Corp – the largest metals service centre company in North America. In 2010, Reliance's global sales were over $6.3 billion from supplying a broad range of metallic materials, including stainless steels, nickel alloys, titanium and aluminium. Metalweb was acquired by Reliance in 2007.

Metalweb
www.metalweb.co.uk