Durrans look to cash in on popularity of iPhones

The firm said demand for high purity carbon powders for anodes, which go into making lithium-ion batteries for consumer electronics and electric cars, was an exciting new growth area for the company.

The Penistone-based firm is exploring the development of thermal treatment of carbon to produce powders of such high purity.

James Durrans, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, supplies a range of carbon-based products and refractory coatings to manufacturers in sectors including medical, steel, chemical, automotive and nuclear.

Carbon products are also produced for water filtration and as sacrificial anodes to prevent rusting in ships.

One of its biggest developing areas is lubricants, which are used in medical components like hip joints and forging applications, such as the manufacturing of turbine blades for jet engines at Rolls Royce.

“We see a lot of growth in the lubricants market,” managing director Chris Durrans said. “It’s a business we are developing.”

One of the firm’s fastest growing business areas in the last 20 years has been special graphite powders, which are used to manufacture brakes.

The company has a turnover of £65m and a £3.5m pre-tax profit. About 60 per cent of its turnover comes from the UK.

It operates from four UK factories, employing 200 people, and also has plants in China, India, South Africa, Germany and France.

The company is constantly investing in research and development across its UK and European plants.

It sources raw materials in Brazil, Japan and the US as well as large oil refineries in the UK. Smaller quantities are imported from South Africa and China.

The company is due to install it’s third mixing plant in it’s wholly-owned Chinese factory next month. The move will increase production of refractory coatings by 30 per cent and make it one of the largest factories of its kind in the world .

The biggest investment the company has made recently is in its new £2.5m headquarters, built on the same site in Penistone, South Yorkshire, where the firm was founded in 1863.

Staff moved into the new elliptical-shaped building, which took a year to build, two weeks ago.

Mr Durrans said: “We wanted to celebrate our 150th anniversary and also pull together the three offices that were on the site.”

The 11,200 sq ft, four-storey, building, which overlooks the River Don, now houses all 40 head office staff. It includes a reception area, meeting rooms, boardroom and a gym.

“We are very pleased with the new office,” said Mr Durrans. “It means that everyone is in one place which makes for better communication.”

Mr Durrans is the fifth generation of the Durrans family to run the company. His brother, Nicholas, runs the company’s German operation. Their 85-year-old father, Geoffrey, retired from the business 20 years ago.

Mr Durrans said: “We would like to think that the company will be owned by the next generation and run by them too but we don’t know who that will be yet.”

[email protected]