Company celebrates and looks to expand worldwide

But the Doncaster-based company, which supplied the stainless steel grilles for both the Millennium Bridge and the Castleford pedestrian bridge, is now celebrating 50 years of business with overseas expansion.

Ed Miliband, the Labour leader and MP for Doncaster North, visited the firm’s headquarters, in Toll Bar, as part of the celebrations, and the company is holding an open day, on July 29, for the public.

The firm was founded as Wedge Wire Screens in 1961 by Cliff Spiller to supply the National Coal Board with welded wedge wire for coal preparation. The company, which now makes steel wire screens for industries such as food processing, distilling and water treatment, is currently run by his son, Michael.

The company, which employs 50 staff, also has an architectural practice, Belmont Architectural Products, which was launched 10 years ago and now makes up a third of its £3.3m turnover.

Mr Spiller, chairman, said Optima’s niche product and diverse customer-base has helped it to continue growing during the economic downturn

He said: “We are always looking for new markets and products but the economic situation hasn’t forced us into doing that.

“It actually hasn’t affected us at all. We were reading and hearing the horror stories and thinking ‘where is this recession?’

“We have got a niche product operating in a niche market. If one industry is hit, there are other areas we can fall back on. The big projects on the architecture side have carried on.”

South America, where it set up manufacturing plants three years ago, is currently driving business growth abroad, but Optima is also looking for opportunities in China and India.

The firm makes steel screens for sugar cane and biofuel processors in Brazil as well as screens for underground water extraction in Chile. The Brazil plant has doubled its capacity since it was set up and will eventually take over all the manufacturing for that market.

In addition, Optima is setting up a three-year joint venture in Brazil to boost sales across both North and South America.

Other export markets include Pakistan and Europe.

Construction projects in London are driving growth on the architectural side of the business. “Stainless steel is more expensive than other materials but the people behind these projects want the best, and stainless steel looks impressive,” said Mr Spiller.

Belmont Architectural Products has worked on a number of high-profile projects, including the King’s Cross refurbishment and the Loughborough University façade as well as projects for Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, GlaxoSmithKline, several airports and buildings on Canary Wharf.

Optima first began production in late 1961 in a purpose-built 4,500 sq ft workshop.

But its founder, Cliff Spiller, died in 1964 at the age of 54, before the company was very well established. Michael Spiller joined the company that same year and worked his way up from the shop floor to become chief executive in 1974. “We had a caretaker manager who ran the company for 10 years before I took over,” said Mr Spiller.

Manufacture continued mainly for the coal industry until the miners’ strike of 1984 when the decision was taken to find new products and industries in the UK and overseas.

Mr Spiller said: “Our only competitor in the UK at the time waited for the strike to finish and went bankrupt but we looked at new overseas markets and new products. That’s when our export business took off.”

Demand was so great the existing workshops were extended and today the Doncaster site has more than eight times the floor space of the original building.

But disaster struck in 2007 when Optima was forced to stop production for three months after the site was flooded with two feet of water. The company was one of the sites visited by Prince Charles in the aftermath.

However, the initial disruption, although it cost the firm £500,000, did not damage the company in the long term. “It hardly affected the company,” said Mr Spiller. “In the end, we lost three months of production but managed to make that up by the end of the year.”

That same year, the company changed its name to Optima International to reflect its work abroad.

Looking ahead, Mr Spiller added: “For the next year I expect it to be fairly level and after that I expect it to grow again with our developments in India and China. I would think we would spend a year establishing what we have got in South America and then move into Asia and the Far East.”

Optima: The history

1961: Wedge Wire Screens was founded by Cliff Spiller to build wire screens for the National Coal Board.

1964: Cliff Spiller died and his son, Michael, joined the company on the shopfloor.

1974: Michael Spiller became chief executive.

1984: The firm diversified into new markets and products during the miners’ strike.

1999: Belmont Architectural Products was launched to make stainless steel grilles for a variety of different projects including the Millennium Bridge, designed by Foster & Partners.

2007: Optima was hit by floods and received a visit from Prince Charles when he toured some of the worst-hit areas in South Yorkshire. The company also changed its name to Optima International.