Malthouse wins hi-tech work in eighth decade
Flame cutting and surface grinding specialist Malthouse Engineering, which celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2017, is finding new sales markets through social media and winning work on hi-tech projects as its begins its eighth decade in business.
October was the company's best month since 2011 for both sales and profit and 2017 has seen the business return to profit helped by increased demand from existing and new customers and rising steel and scrap prices.
Malthouse Engineering has only had two managing directors through its existence.
Current MD Dr Roy Taylor took over from Bert Hands in 1983 and led a £150,000 management buyout of the company in Hainge Road, Tividale, three years later.
The company name is from its origin in 1947 when it started work in a malthouse underneath the old town hall in Oldbury
It made the move to its existing headquarters site in 1950 and has continued to grow steadily over the years and in 2017 achieved turnover of more than £10 million with sister company Keiton Engineering in Wednesbury achieving £2m.
Back in 1986 when the management buyout from Wolverhampton's Frederick Cooper took place turnover was £1.5m and the company employed 49.
The company had dispensed with sales representatives and concentrates on winning new work through social media, blogs on its website and targetted e-mails and marketing.
One of the most exciting new projects it has won work on was for a 300-metre circular synchrotron project in Grenoble, France. Over two months Malthouse flame cut the precise steel shapes needed to create the structure for a customer in Cambridge that then did the machining.
Dr Taylor said they hoped to win further work in the US on even bigger synchrotron projects.
The company is also aiming to win more work on energy projects. It has already worked on a wave power scheme at Pembroke Docks in Walesand provided steel for medium-sized wind turbines.
"At the other end of the spectrum we have found a market for refurbishment of steam locomotives.
"We are supplying the Severn Valley Railway and our major customer is the South Devon Railway," he said.
Dr Taylor, who bought the shares of the four other members of the buyout team when they retired in 2006, now has a team of managers that includes works manager Tim Bucknall, sales manager Paul Taylor, fabrications manager Tony Downes, marketing and HR manager Mark Hayward and accountant Mike Hateley.
Today Malthouse is part of Malthouse Industries along with Keiton and comes under the Malthouse Industrial Holdings group, which employs 90, and has acquired 14 companies over the years.
The Tividale site is also home to Midland Steel Profiles, Empyrium Profiles and William Freeston with Rapid Steel Profiling at Wednesbury with Keiton and Lynrose Engineering and Dennick Engineering in Worcester. The group also owns Northern Profiles and Premier Profiles covering the north of England
Now Malthouse operates from 28,500 sq ft and acquired a neighbouring unit as a stockyard with 28,000 sq ft and also has 6,000 sq ft unit on Hainge Road and other sites in Worcester and Wednesbury. There are 68 employed at Tividale.
The steady growth has partly come from acquisitions, with Empyrium adding £1m turnover and MSP £400,000, and winning sub-contracting work from across the country
Dr Taylor is proud of Malthouse's expertise in traditional Black Country skills. As well as flame cutting and grinding it also does some fabrication.
"We believe we are the biggest independent in our area of expertise in the country," he said.
"The business is constantly investing in its machines and has 10 flame cutting machines and 14 grinders within its works, including two newly acquired grinding machines, along with a range of milling machines, presses, fabrication machines and a furnace.
Malthouse has also invented and patented its own scraper beds, which the steel sits on while it is machined, to maximise recovery of waste metal and improve productivity.
"The sale of scrap steel has become an important source of revenue for us," explained Dr Taylor.
Malthouse Engineering normally stocks 2,000 tonnes of carbon steel plate in different sizes and grades of up to 500 millimetres thickness. It sources steel up to 160mm from the UK and thicker metal from the continent, largely Germany.
Typically it can complete an order in five days, three days for flame cut blank and in exceptional circumstances can do work on the same day
The company's highly skilled workforce includes many long-serving employees, including some who have done up to 35 years.
It has a high retention rate and does all training of shop floor staff within the business.
Malthouse also works with Birmingham City University and the University of Wolverhampton on knowledge transfer partnerships and knowledge exchange and enterprise network projects for its management level staff
It marked its 70th with a party at Dudley Golf Club on November 3 for 70 guests that included current and past employees. Entertainment came from Black Country comedian Doreen Tipton.
The company is also planning to update its history book, originally written for the 60th anniversary in 2007.
"We are proud of our heritage and how we have grown over the years and we continue to have ambition to grow," said Dr Taylor.
