Metals engineer moving to advanced park

Sarclad plans to increase its turnover by £5m this year, after investing £1.6m in new premises.

The Chesterfield-based company is moving to Rotherham’s Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) where it will produce equipment for metals processing customers in 46 countries, which it markets from the UK and offices in China and America.

Managing director Keith Shillam said yesterday. “The company is confident it can improve on the £10m turnover it achieved in 2011.”

The new base is twice the size of its existing premises.

Mr Shillam believes it will be the springboard for dramatic growth.

He said: “This is an extremely positive step for the future of Sarclad. The AMP perfectly defines our business. We operate in the same global markets as the other tenants, who are from the aerospace, nuclear and metals industries. It was perfectly natural that we should join them there.”

Sarclad was established 35 years ago, and employs 65 people. It helps metals producers to control costs and improve quality by supplying cold-rolling mill roll texturing technology. The company expects to move to the AMP in late April or early May.

The AMP is one of the UK’s leading centres for world-class engineering. It was established as a joint venture between public and private sector organisations including Yorkshire Forward, which has been scrapped by the coalition Government, and UK Coal, which owns the land. The aim is to create an internationally recognised centre for engineering, research and manufacturing excellence.

At its hub, the AMP has some of the world’s leading materials and research organisations, including the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing (AMRC), and the new Nuclear AMRC.

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