WIREDGOV

Siltbuster – the UK’s leading provider of portable water treatment solutions - is investing £4.3m to expand operations in Monmouth that will create 66 new jobs in a move backed by a £1.15m funding package from the Welsh Government and Finance Wales.

The deal is the first to be made from the £136m Wales Business Fund which is backed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and  Welsh Government and managed by Finance Wales.

Siltbuster, which currently employs 48 people, will more than double staff numbers creating 66 highly paid skilled jobs. The company forecasts doubling turnover by 2020.

The company has outgrown its current facilities at Unipure House and is to construct a purpose-designed 2000 sq. mt. headquarters that includes offices, workshop, warehousing and storage yard on a 10 acre site nearby. All its products are designed in Monmouth and supported up by an in-house laboratory and site support engineers.

Economy Cabinet Secretary Ken Skates said:

“This is a significant investment that will create high quality jobs and enable the company to grow and meet the growing worldwide demand for its products and services.

“Siltbuster is a highly innovative company and an acknowledged authority in its highly specialised field with an international reputation for excellence. It has seen year on year growth in sales and services both in the UK and worldwide which is a result of on-going investment in new product development. I am delighted the Welsh Government and Finance Wales are supporting their expansion that will mark a new chapter in the company’s development.”

Its business plan includes continued expansion into new territories and continued growth of its industrial and recycling business (SPS and Gritbuster). CEO Richard Coulton, who founded the business, said:

“It’s amazing to think that not long ago we had just one product for one specific application. Over the past 17 years we have grown to have over 50 different products treating anything from radioactive particles to baked beans!”

“Siltbuster is a growing family business with a strong track record in a growing sector.  This new premises move is needed to help them expand further,” explained Finance Wales Investment Executive Leanna Davies. “We worked in partnership with the company, the bank and Welsh Government to package a bespoke investment to suit the needs of the business and the other funders involved.”

Siltbuster has worked with the majority of the top 100 construction contractors in the UK and has helped tackle the dirty water produced by construction work on projects ranging from Birmingham New Street station, Heathrow Terminal 5, Crossrail and the Olympic Park through to the construction of Airbus’ new UK factory and the Copenhagen Metro. Its fleet of over 300 treatment systems are routinely out on hire to the construction sector.

Through its industrial subsidiary SPS, Siltbuster provide both temporary and permanent water treatment solutions to industrial, municipal and food and drink markets and currently has plants treating a diverse range of waste streams whiskey distilleries, cider production, most food and drink processes and the removal of arsenic.

Further afield, the company operates overseas through distributors and provided clarifiers to control pollution from the salvage of the Costa Concordia and has undertaken mine treatment projects around the world. Most recently Siltbuster has entered into an agreement with the world’s leading robotic hydrodemolition company Aquajet to design and manufacture a bespoke water treatment solution, the EcoClear.