An engineering firm has created new jobs and invested in state-of-the-art equipment after receiving a grant from a Journal scheme.
Newcastle-based Houghton International has invested more £100,000 in a new coil press and a further £200,000 in the redevelopment of its rail division premises in a bid to boost business.
The project has been supported by a grant from the Let’s Grow programme, a scheme run by The Journal in association with BE Group and UNW to distribute money from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund to SMEs in the North East.
Houghton International CEO Michael Mitten said: “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 Houghton’s most successful financial year to date and supports plans to achieve a turnover of £20m by 2020.
