A Black Country business specialising in the manufacturing of aluminium furnaces has secured new funding from Barclays to support a major contract win.
Kingswinford-based Mechatherm International has secured the multi-million pound order to supply one of the top 10 biggest aluminium producers in the world with melting and holding furnaces. This order has resulted in 10 new jobs being created at the company, taking the current workforce to 60 staff. The family-owned business was founded in 1973 by Louis Riley and John Gardner and specialises in the design, manufacture and installation of furnaces and ancillary products. Mechatherm has a customer base of blue chip companies and exports to more than 50 countries around the world. The company has received a Queens Award for Exporting three times in its’ history. Andrew Riley, chairman of Mechatherm International, said: “We are delighted to be awarded this order which is testimony to the expertise and hard work of our staff and enables us to compete with some of the larger companies in the market place.
“The support from UK Export Finance and Barclays has made this possible and we are delighted they have confidence in the company’s management team and financial status to deliver this order.” Lee Clarke, relationship director working alongside Max Morgan of Barclays’ international trade team, provided the funding and said: “It’s really good to see a local Black Country business winning an order of this value. The business has stuck to its core offering since its inception in 1973 and is today a significant player in the market.” UK Export Finance supported the business alongside Barclays by providing a guarantee under its bond support scheme to free up Mechatherm’s working capital to fulfil the order.
Later this year, the company is planning to open an office in Dubai to further grow its international sales.