Rise of the independent brewer good news for Microdat

Five new jobs have been created at the Leeds-based firm, which makes cask and keg handling systems for large brewers and growing real ale specialists, with more potentially in the pipeline as orders pour in from around the UK.

The St Austell Brewery has placed two orders for equipment totalling £2m, which follows two orders of £1.4m each from Moorhouse’s Burnley Brewery and the Wye Valley Brewery in Herefordshire.

Further orders are currently in the pipeline for Timothy Taylor’s in Keighley (£750,000) and Greene King in Suffolk (£500,000).

A Microdat packaging line and ancillary equipment is going into the Leeds Brewery, with further smaller projects for the Hopping Mad Brewery in Olney, Bucks, St Austell and the Kirkstall and Abbeydale breweries in Yorkshire.

Steve Midgley, founder and managing director of Microdat, said: “Following a steady 2010, the swing to quality beers from independent brewers has accelerated and we’re now heading for a record sales year.

“While it’s sad to see the departure of Tetley’s from Leeds, we like to think that, along with the independent brewers, we continue to fly the flag for real ale in the city and beyond.”

Paul Stephens, Leeds City Council chief economic services officer, added: “The brewing industry has undergone significant change but this has created opportunities for innovative and entrepreneurial companies such as Microdat, which play a key role in creating new employment and developing a thriving economy.”

Launched in the late 1980s, Microdat, developed a reputation for innovation within the specialist sector of keg and cask packaging in the UK brewing industry.

Continued investment in the latest technology and advanced engineering techniques, including robotics, has led to sustained progress in automated handling systems, chiefly for brewers, but also helping other sectors to improve productivity.

The firm posted a turnover of £4.2m last year.