Dean Smith & Grace (DSG) acquired by MTTG

Dean Smith & Grace (DSG) was originally founded nearly 150 years ago, in Keighley, and manufactures, distributes and supports a wide range of horizontal lathes. The installed base, of over 43,000 machine tools, is employed by a diverse range of industries, including oil and gas, aerospace, medical, tool and die, power generation and high-end automotive. The DSG business has operated continuously in the UK, under various owners, since 1865. MTTG is an established UK designer, manufacturer and distributor of machine tools, specialising in precision horizontal CNC lathes, special-purpose cylindrical grinding machines, crank shaft grinding solutions and special machine tool solutions for the rail sector. MTTG is backed by Hughes Armstrong Corporate Investment PLC, whose shareholders include well known machine tool company operators Mark Franckel and Stephen Lord. Both individuals were most recently involved with Precision Technologies Group (PTG), whose constituent parts were sold to Chinese (Chongqing Machinery and Electric Co) and American (Hardinge) companies. Having developed its own unique laser control system with Laser Control Systems Ltd, another company owned by the UK investment group Hughes Armstrong, MTTG says it will also shortly be announcing an alliance with a significant Asian manufacturer of laser machine tool solutions. Hughes Armstrong says it aims to expand MTTG to provide a powerful and complementary range of conventional and specialist niche machine tool technology solutions for specific sectors including oil and gas, steel, aerospace, railway, power generation and general engineering workshops. "This is a world class manufacturer and an excellent strategic fit for MTTG, adding valuable established product lines and a global customer base to our growing portfolio." said Carl Griffiths, MTTG chief executive officer (and previously with PTG Heavy Industries). "Along with expanding our activities into new sectors, DSG products will help us further consolidate our existing oil and gas activities. Furthermore, we have scheduled the immediate development of a range of new products that will allow us to increase the range and update the technology offered by DSG machines, whilst preserving the renowned quality of the DSG brand." The first of the new machines is expected to reach the market as early as 2013; they will carry the world famous Dean Smith & Grace brand name. "We are extremely proud to be able to bring new drive and strategic direction to this classic British engineering company," Mr Griffiths concluded.