INDUSTRY NEWS A steel industry success story
steel sales, company turnover, expansion and investment are at an all-time high, and the upward trend looks set to continue. In the last financial year (2015- 2016), Suffolk-based AJN Steelstock Ltd, sold close to 96,000 tonnes of steel with a turnover for the same period of £56 million – up £5 million on the previous year. In 2015, AJN Steelstock made a multi-million pound purchase and investment in a 17 acre site in Henstridge, Somerset, to increase its capacity and serve as a bridgehead for expansion into the South Coast, South West, M4 corridor, Wales and the West Midlands.
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In order to bring the site up to an operational level, the company placed contracts to the value of £750,000 with local companies and has since created over 100 brand new permanent jobs. The company has also just invested £1.2 million in new saw/
teel making in the UK may be experiencing difficult times, but for one company in our region
drilling line and high definition plasma profiling machine to keep pace with customer demand, together with an additional £500,000 worth of various other new machinery.
AJN Steelstock now employs over two hundred sixty people across its purpose-built Newmarket and Henstridge sites.
Commenting, AJN Steelstock’s Financial Director, Courtney Bell, said: “We are not involved in steel
production, which is where the bulk of the problems besetting the steel industry are at the moment. “Rather, we supply high-quality steel to the UK construction and engineering industries and increasing demand means that we have made these multi-million investments at a time when the rest of the industry is in turmoil.” The company has seen demand for its steel increase month on month, year on year for the
last fifteen years, culminating in today’s record breaking announcement. This trend is expected to continue in to the 2016/17 financial year.
AJN Steelstock is a family owned business which was started in 1974 by John Boyden and was located in Bury St Edmunds. Today the business is owned by John’s sons Alan and Neil from their head office based in Kentford just outside Newmarket in Suffolk.
SLM Solutions opens new branch in Moscow SLM Solutions expands sales activities in Russia
With this new branch, the specialist for metal-based additive manufacturing strengthens the sales and service activities in the growth market Russia. The intentions are to provide comprehensive product consultation for customers, a fast on-site service and the best possible utilization of new market potentials. Since February 2016, the
leading provider of metal-based additive manufacturing, also known as “3D print”, has a new branch in Moscow. On February 11, 2016, 100 business partners attended when SLM Solutions opened the new branch during a festive event. SLM Solutions represents quality, innovative
4 IMT June 2016
technologies and reliable service – all over the world. The new subsidiary will provide
the entire product portfolio of the system manufacturer including the SLM® systems, the consumables as well as related services. The new branch in Moscow will enable the Lübeck- based manufacturer to respond even faster to the customers’ and business partners’ individual wishes as well as to the current development in Russia. Despite the currently difficult
economic environment, SLM Solutions recognizes the long- term potentials of the Russian market. Russia looks back on a strong metallurgic history. Russia has long been counted among the
TOP ten markets with regard to the use of metal-based additive technology. During the last two years, SLM Solutions has sold and installed several systems in Russia. Sectors such as aerospace, education and research, medical technology, as well as construction companies from the energy sector (such as gas turbine manufacturers and the oil and gas industry) show strong interest.
During the opening ceremony, contacts were established and many talks about particular projects were held. Andreas Frahm, director of Sales, Marketing & Service with SLM Solutions Ltd. states: “For our Russian customers the opening of the new branch is
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the logical consequence from the decades of commitment of SLM Solutions and their predecessors. In many talks our commitment was repeatedly valued as a clear mark of confidence and welcomed by the Russians. We see very good market opportunities for our enterprise. The prospects for 2016 are still strained, but the local presence will have long-term positive effects on the market development of SLM Solutions in Russia. Our own service team, our own contacts, our showroom and workshop will enable us to respond even more individually to our customers’ wishes for local services. Any further expansion will depend on the future business development.
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