Torres pumps up volumes after striking deal with French group

Ken Torres, managing director and owner of the family business, said the agreement with Titan Aviation will see its refuelling pumps, sporting a Made in Sheffield logo, exported across the world.

Mr Torres also called on the Government to offer tax breaks on export orders clinched by UK businesses to encourage them to go global. He said: “Exporting from the UK is most vital for the economy of the country.”

“We need to get exporting to bring money into the country and that is what I strongly believe.

“I honestly firmly believe that this Government and previous governments never did any realistic thing to encourage exporters,” added Mr Torres, who is a director at the South Yorkshire International Trade Forum.

He said tax incentives were “the only way” to encourage UK businesses to export. “That is directly encouraging someone to go for the export market rather than the UK market. Until something like that happens, what is encouraging me to go and export?” he added.

Business lobbying group the CBI also recently called on the Government to introduce an incentivising tax break for exporters, as part of a package of proposed measures.

Sheffield-based Torres Pumps, which was founded in 1981, designs and makes specialist pumps for more than 300 regular clients, including Shell, BP, natural chemicals maker Croda, Cadbury and P&O. It works across a range of diverse sectors including the food, chemical and road tanker industries.

The business, which can boast a turnover of around £1m, has a head count of 24, including two apprentices, with Mr Torres’ wife Jean and daughter Dawn also working within the business. It has taken on two new people in the last month.

Torres Pumps says it prides itself on providing solutions to complex engineering problems and has, for example, manufactured pumps for use in extremely high and low temperature environments, as well as for use in other challenging conditions such as extreme pressure.

The company says it has a broad product range as well as specialist skills in pumping, hydraulics, pneumatics and electronic control.

Mr Torres said: “People have a requirement or a problem and they come and see us. We are so specialist in what we do and I don’t want the direction of the company to change under any circumstances. We have never employed any sales people. People come and find us.”

Torres Pumps has exported to many countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Australia, India, Mexico, the United States and Kazakhstan. Mr Torres added: “I am a great believer that manufacturing will only survive in this country if people go into making specialist equipment in smaller quantities because I have never ever had a doubt that if I make hundreds of something, the Chinese, the Indians, they will copy it and make it as good because of the quantity, but they are not interested in twos, threes, ones, twos.

“We are not a big country and if we focus on making specialist gear and getting skilled people then we will survive.”

Torres Pumps had already supplied Titan Aviation with products such as prototype units before securing the 10-year pumps agreement, which Mr Torres said was “significant”.

Mr Torres, who sits on the Made in Sheffield steering group as well as on the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce council, said: “We have had some special cardboard boxes made by a Sheffield company which says Torres Pumps, our full address and email address, and then the logo with ‘Made in Sheffield’.”

He said he is keen to ensure all the company’s suppliers are based in Yorkshire, adding: “I’ve always supported making things locally. The reason is when I am making specialist stuff it is easier to go to the car, take a five or ten- minute journey, if there’s a problem or if something needs sorting out.

“If I had been with a company and had to travel two and a half, three hours, you can’t go there unannounced as you don’t know if they are in or not in. Half a day or a day chasing something and what a waste of time.”

Mr Torres also owns another Sheffield-based company, Allpumps, which sources and supplies pumps, spares, fittings and accessories.

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