Member Article

MPD creates 10 new jobs as it ramps up production of critical parts for the COVID-19 frontline effort

A Black Country foundry is creating 10 new jobs to supply increased orders for critical components destined for the NHS, the MoD and Homeland Security in the United States.

Midland Pressure Diecasting (MPD) was identified as a key supplier at the very start of the Covid-19 pandemic and has proactively responded by boosting its workforce in a number of strategic positions, including electrical maintenance, fabrication, CNC operation and die casting.

The company, which provides aluminium and zinc high pressure die castings and CNC machining services, supplies critical safety parts used in hospital beds and air filtration, as well as components for mobile sanitising equipment that is keeping medical facilities clean.

It has also received instruction from the MoD to continue to produce specialist lighting parts that are used by vehicles taking part in vital logistics operations.

Urgent client demands for parts have been met thanks to the hard work of the 75 employees, who, thanks to application of additional PPE and a new factory layout, are all adhering to government guidelines.

“I think we all need to do our bit in the national effort against Covid-19, however big or small that may be,” explained Ash Suman, Managing Director of Midland Pressure Diecasting.

“MPD knew we had an important role to play and we wanted to ensure we had the capacity and skills in place to deliver current and future demand, delivering security of supply to our customers when they need it most.”

He continued: “We are currently supplying castings for clients working with the NHS and Ministry of Defence, ensuring that there are enough hospital beds for patients and that critical supplies reach their destinations.”

He continued: “With the full support of our staff we have overcome a number of challenges since the start of the pandemic, such as altering our site layout and operations to ensure the safety of our workers and securing our supply chain in the face of a number of suppliers temporarily closing down as a result of Covid-19.

“The safety of our workforce is a priority and we’ve taken measures to increase social distancing by redesigning the factory to introduce more workstations so they are further apart, working from home where possible and staggering breaks and shifts so our staff always maintain a safe distance from each other.”

Midland Pressure Diecasting supplies customers in batch sizes (ranging from 50 parts to 5 million) and with components as heavy as 6kg produced at the company’s two Willenhall facilities spanning a combined 80,000 sq ft.

The company, which recently completed another investment drive of £250,000, can also provide high quality tooling and CNC machining services to clients who require parts to be supplied finished for their assemblies.

Ash concluded: “Our staff are at the heart of what MPD does and we want to protect them, whilst continuing to supply our customers - an integral part of our company values.

“This is a real team effort and MPD, like many Black Country manufacturers, is proud to do what we can to help the country get through these difficult times. We are fortunate to be in a position to hire skilled people when a lot of staff are being furloughed across the UK and this helps to secure both vital industrial knowledge and experience, whilst being a welcome boost for local employment.

“With production volumes continuing to increase, we will shortly be looking to create even more positions at the business.”

For further information, please visit www.midlandpressurediecasting.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .