Worcester Presses has completed a move from its home in Stourbridge to a more modern facility on Peartree Lane in Dudley due to increasing demand in automotive and white goods.
Worcester Presses, which provides a range of mechanical and hydraulic presses and coil processing equipment for clients all over the UK, has moved from its traditional home in Stourbridge to a more modern facility on Peartree Lane in Dudley.
The new site features built-in offices, central stores, a large machine shop and a dedicated 6000 sq ft engineering area that is supporting the firm’s desire to offer more turnkey solutions on the equipment it supplies.
It marks a new era in the company’s almost 70-year history, as the relocation has paved the way for a new corporate identity and the appointment of Ivan Littlewood as engineering director.
He will be in charge of the management and control of Worcester Presses’ engineers, including in-house manufacture, commissioning of new machines and servicing.
Charles Higgins, director at Worcester Presses, said: “2016 was a very good year for our business and that upward trend is continuing with the first eight months of 2017 delivering even more deals and the real possibility of achieving record breaking turnover.
“Whilst some firms are understandably nervous about Brexit, we’ve seen nothing but growth since the vote, with this increase being driven by our traditional automotive customer base and emerging opportunities in white goods and the building trade.”
Higgins continued: “In particular, we are being asked to supply more turnkey machinery packages and that really drove our decision to move to the new factory in Dudley, which is better suited to adapting presses and coil handling equipment.
“While only a few miles away, we have also seen a massive difference in transport times.”
The mechanical Chin Fong range of presses is still the core of the Worcester Presses’ business, closely followed by its growing range of Tomac Coil Handling equipment, Yeh Chiun hydraulic presses and press transfer equipment.
Employing 12 people in Dudley, the company has seen a 35% increase in sales for its Yeh Chiun range of hydraulic presses, offering both C Frame and straight side presses to customers involved in the metal forming and stamping industry.
As part of its desire to expand its offering, the firm has also signed an agreement with a press transfer system specialist to supply complete automation packages in the UK, providing clients with a way of streamlining labour intensive manufacturing applications.
Worcester Presses has recently taken on an apprentice to assist in the electrical division and have plans in place to increase the workforce between now and the end of 2018.
