Member Article

Wire specialist completes MBO and sets sights on record year

One of the UK’s leading manufacturers of round, flat and profile wire has completed a management buy-out, as it looks to target £15m annual sales for the first time in its 77-year history.

Alloy Wire International (AWI)‘s senior management team, comprising Managing Director Tom Mander, Technical Director Andrew Du Plessis and Finance Director Adam Shaw, has purchased the business from the current owners, cementing the Black Country firm’s long-term future.

The deal will see all 33 members of staff become shareholders in the business, reinforcing a company-wide commitment to each other and its 6000-strong global customer base.

The trio have also pressed the button on a near £1m investment drive that will see new wet drawing and single hole dry drawing machines arrive during the course of the year, along with an annealing line spooler and several hundred tonnes of raw material.

“This is another major milestone in the history of AWI and gives us the platform to capitalise on recent growth and massive export opportunities,” explained Tom Mander, Managing Director of Alloy Wire International.

“The new owners have over 45 years’ combined experience of working here, so it was a natural progression for us to step forward and take the business on, with previous MD Mark Venables moving to Chairman for the next five years and R&D Director Angus Hogarth taking a consultancy role.”

He continued: “There’s something very special about this business and this MBO ensures we maintain and cultivate this for the next 75 years.

“We will continue to focus on our USPs, which include delivering the fastest industry lead times, world class manufacturing quality and an expanding range of exotic alloys.

“It goes without saying that the technical expertise AWI is known for will continue to be a cornerstone of our approach.”

Alloy Wire International manufactures round, flat and profile wire in over 60 Exotic alloys, such as Inconel, Monel, Hastelloy, Nimonic and Waspaloy.

Founded in 1946 by John Stockdale in an old ambulance station in Old Hill in the Black Country, the company’s founding principles of ‘manufacturing quality, delivering reliability’ has stood the test of time and remains a crucial part of how it deals with its international customer base.

Today, the firm continues to operate across 15 different market sectors and, despite global supply chain disruption, is still delivering material in just four weeks from the order being placed.

Mark Venables, who led the previous MBO in 2013, is delighted that the new owners have come from within the company.

“The new management team are well versed in the Alloy Wire International culture and will also bring a youthful exuberance, passion, and eagerness to innovate traditional processes and industry norms.

“They have already ring-fenced significant investment for the next five years and are keen to work on increasing our international network of agents, with discussions currently taking place on establishing a bigger presence in Egypt and the Middle East.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how Tom, Adam and Andrew take the business forward and achieve our aim of becoming a £15m business by the end of 2023.”

Alloy Wire International has been supported in the MBO by Andy Wyeth, Corporate Relationship Director at HSBC Corporate Banking’s West Midlands Team, with the company’s existing accountant, BSN Associates, helping structure the deal.

Legal representation for the owners and buyers was by FBC Manby Bowdler and George Green LLP respectively.

For further information, please visit www.alloywire.com or follow @alloywire on twitter.

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