Alucast, which is celebrating its 50th birthday, will start work on the new facility in June. It will house its existing CAD and MAGMA® casting simulation facilities, non-destructive testing capabilities and the firm’s new 5-axis CNC technology.
The move comes as part of an ambitious strategy that will see the company target up to £3 million of new ‘lightweighting’ opportunities for complex castings in the automotive and agricultural markets. It will recruit 20 employees to cope with the planned expansion to £10 million sales, including engineers and apprentices.
Says chairman Tony Sartorius: “This investment in the new technical centre and machining shop, which is being supported by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, means we’re in a prime position to take advantage of it and reinforce our position as a global leader in structural and other complex components.
“In the 14 years we have been in charge of the company, we feel we have done our best to build on our core expertise by up-skilling our employees, successfully developing succession management, investing in new casting processes and machining capabilities and, shortly, opening the new dedicated £1.2 million technical centre.
“This is a clear indicator of where we are looking to take the company both now and over the next 50 years.”
