Flexibility helps Durham to weather turmoil

Durham Foundry, which is based in Sheffield, shows that small businesses can weather every economic storm, provided they are willing to be flexible.

The family firm, which has 86-year-old John Naylor as its majority shareholder, has beefed up its production facilities as it hunts new opportunities.

Its customer base includes engineering firms and a well-known artist, and it can produce everything from fireplaces to street furniture.

The company, which employs around 20 people, and has a turnover of just over £1m, is seeking new markets.

Mike Naylor, the company’s managing director, said: “We have survived because we can turn our hand to all sorts of things.

“We still make cast iron fireplaces, which makes us the only foundry in the country, to our knowledge, that does that. We are busy, but we don’t feel the need to expand to the £2m to £2.5m turnover level.

“We want to continue with what we’re doing, but we want to become more profitable by being clever and innovative.

“As a family, we don’t take a lot of money out of the business, and firmly believe that we will prosper by continually re-investing in plant, machinery and modern production systems.

“We’ve invested a significant amount in new equipment for the production areas, to keep our production at the cutting edge.”

Karl Dawes, the company’s sales account manager, said the investment would enable Durham Foundry to offer the most efficient and competitive service for its customers.

A foundry was established on the site in about 1870; which was operated by Truswells, a firm of heating engineers, to provide the radiator and boiler parts they needed. In about 1885, the Truswells sold the foundry to Charles Butcher, who, according to records from the time, may have been their foreman.

He ran it until 1900 when, on his retirement, he sold it to Arthur Naylor and his brother-in-law, Charles Oxley.

They converted it into a limited company, Charles Butcher & Co. on September 19, 1900.

The company continued to trade through boom and slump and two world wars.

After the Second World War, two plots of adjoining land were leased, enabling the foundry to be rebuilt and enlarged. Electric melting was installed in the 1970s.

In 1990, there was an amalgamation with another foundry and this led to the setting up of a separate company, Durham Foundry (Sheffield). In 1996, Charles Butcher & Co. bought out the other interest and it is now the sole owner of the production company. The business is still owned and managed by members of the Naylor family.

Mike Naylor is conscious of the challenges that lie ahead, as the UK economy takes tentative steps away from recession.

He added: “There are green shoots but we have to be cautious.

“There are dramatic variations within our sector – some foundries are very busy and others are very short of work.”

Mr Naylor believes the firm can play a role in helping to provide the UK economy with “green” energy.

“Offshore wind is one area we want to get into, by supplying castings for it,” he said.

“We feel there’s definitely growth there. We make anything we can make a profit on. You have got to change and be flexible.”

The company has supplied under water castings in connection with the offshore wind market, and is talking to another firm that wants to use it as a casting supplier.

Durham Foundry has been smart enough to adapt to the changing economic climate, but bosses there believe that extra help from the Government would help their sector become more competitive.

Mr Naylor added: “One area that would help, would be to have grants to help with capital expenditure provided by the Government.

“For small firms, some of the investment needed in an ever-changing market place can be daunting, and help with this would enable SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to become more competitive.”

Durham Foundry’s owners believe that fortune favours the brave, who make far-sighted investments.