Member Article

Durham engineering firm secure £200,000 investment

County Durham-based ALM Engineering Solutions have secured a £200,000 investment to expand into new markets.

ALM manufacture components for use in the aerospace, nuclear, oil and gas, and transport sectors.

The investment from the Finance for Business North East Growth Fund, administered by NEL Fund Managers, will support expansion plans.

More than £500,000 has been invested in new plant and equipment at the Newton Aycliffe firm over the last three years.

Tony Thompson founded the company in 1994 as an architectural ironmongery manufacturer, before diversifying into sub contract precision engineering in 2004.

Tony said: “We’ve worked hard to set ourselves apart from the competition during the recession, and while conditions have been and remain tough, we’ve been able to improve what was already a strong business and develop mutually-beneficial long-term partnerships with a range of key clients.

“Moving into the aerospace and nuclear industries places a huge emphasis on the quality of the work we produce, but securing the AS9100 standard demonstrates to potential new clients that we’re able to meet their exacting requirements and it’s already opening new doors for us.

“We’re confident that we’ve got the skills, experience, processes and manufacturing expertise in place to achieve our commercial ambitions, and are confident that the target of reaching a £5m annual turnover inside five years is within our grasp.

“The Growth Fund investment process was very thorough, but the NEL team was great to deal with, and the capital they’re providing puts us in a strong position to make strategic investments that we know will help take the business forward in the years to come.”

Jane Siddle, investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, added: “ALM’s track record speaks volumes for the quality of the products that they manufacture, and their ambition to expand into new markets will be supported by the additional working capital that this Growth Fund investment provides.”

Lee Jackson, senior manager at accountants Baker Tilly, who advised ALM through the investment process, said: “We are delighted that this investment has been made. Baker Tilly has been working closely with Tony and his team at ALM for a number of years, and introduced NEL to them in the belief that they would be good fit to help and support ALM carry out its strategic plans.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .