Member Article

£300k investment fuels growth at Newcastle's Houghton International

Newcastle-based, electro mechanical engineering specialist Houghton International has invested over £100k in a coil press to improve its capabilities and strengthen its offer to the market.

In addition the company has also invested a further £200k in the redevelopment of its rail division premises, including new energy efficient stoves, LED lighting and a full electrical upgrade to streamline processes and enhance the factory.

Michael Mitten, CEO of Houghton International, commented: “As a business we are continuing to grow year on year and are prepared to invest in our future. These most recent investments support our future growth plans and improve our efficiency.

“The new press will allow us to manufacture coils for larger scale projects, significantly increasing our size capability to 4.5m. The new machine is highly accurate and consistent, enabling more precise data recording for improved quality and fit. It’s also very efficient allowing us to be more responsive and offer shorter lead times to our customers around the world.

“Additionally we are seeing a much broader range of work coming through our rail division from a wider range of customers. Investment in this area allows us to scale up and benefit from process and production efficiencies allowing us to maximise these growth opportunities while minimising our environmental impact.”

The company, which currently operates across three divisions, specialises in the repair and maintenance of rotating machines. The investment comes off the back of its most successful financial year to date and supports its future growth ambitions to achieve a turnover of £20million by 2020. The business growth was supported by a grant from the Regional Growth Fund Let’s Grow programme. Let’s Grow is a £30m fund which is delivered by BE group in partnership with Trinity Mirror Group and UNW LLP which provides grant support for capital investment and R&D projects that will create new, sustainable jobs within the region.

In addition to investing in plant and machinery the company also recently welcomed three new apprentices and three trainees to its 86 strong team based in Walker, Newcastle. Founded in 1984, Houghton International has expanded over the last 30 years into a multi-million pound, multinational business. The company has grown from originally serving one customer to now working with over 200 customers in the UK and beyond. Houghton International currently export to over 23 countries worldwide, including Canada, Greece, Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Norway, Venezuela, Malaysia, the Middle East, the USA and the Caribbean.

Houghton International specialises in the repair, maintenance and life extension of electrical mechanical assets servicing a broad range of sectors including power generation, renewables, industrial, water, oil and gas, marine and rail.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tiffany Scott .