Backed by support from Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, Black Country LEP and the Black Country Growth Deal, Alucast has opened additional facilities adjacent to its Wednesbury headquarters to cope with the expansion, giving the company an additional 7,000 ft2 of dedicated machining space.
“The automotive industry continues to move to lighter vehicles as carmakers look at ways where they can meet emission targets and improve fuel performance,” says Tony Sartorius, chairman of Alucast. “We’ve been working on this approach for some time, supporting some of the world’s most prestigious OEMs to design and cast lighter components.
“This is now paying off, with £3 million of new contracts secured in the past 12 months alone, and the promise of much more to come if we continue investing in our capabilities, our design team and our rapidly growing machine shop,” he continues. “It’s great news for the Black Country as we will be creating tens of new jobs towards the end of the year when volumes come on stream.”
Alucast, which is on course for £8.5 million annual sales, specialises in providing aluminium castings for a global customer base involved in the automotive, agriculture, hydraulics, and oil and gas industries. Investment in a new £175,000 die-penetrant facility, combined with more than 50,000 ft2 of manufacturing space, gives Alucast the flexibility to offer low, medium and high-volume production.
The management has recently signed off the £400,000 acquisition of three 5-axis CNC machines from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG), which will help the company supply final machined parts.
John Swift, managing director, says: “It’s been a real whirlwind two years, which started in 2017 with celebrations for our 50th birthday, and then continued with one of our best-ever periods of winning new business. We’re not stopping there though. The recent investment and future spend are all about making the most of new opportunities, including the electrification of vehicles where we can produce castings for motor cases, liquid cooling and power electronics for instance.”
He adds: “Our staff have also been hitting the headlines, with Connor Danks named as the Institute of Cast Metal Engineers ‘Apprentice of the Year 2019’, following in the footsteps of his colleague Liam Greaves and Kieran Marsden, in 2018 and 2017, respectively.”
Alucast is part of the Manufacturing Assembly Network, an eight-strong group of subcontract manufacturers and an engineering design agency, which work together to win orders, and share best practice and resources.
