WIREDGOV

Consort Equipment Products is celebrating after winning two major UK contracts valued at £1m - plus a new £200,000 order from China - which has contributed to a 35% increase in turnover this year.

The business based in the Haven Waterway Enterprise Zone designs and manufacturers its own extensive range of electrical heaters which it sells through electrical wholesalers.

The company has recently made a significant investment in top of the range production equipment backed by two tranches of funding from the Welsh Government’s Economic Growth Fund and the Economic Growth Fund specifically for businesses in Pembrokeshire.

The latest funding support of £246,750 has enabled the business to invest in state-of-the-art technology – a CNC Punching Centre which reduces power consumption by 66%, reduces down time and expands capability - as well as a wire crimping machine and tooling to make PCB controller boards for use in their wireless controlled heaters.

MD Ed Spankie said it was already having a beneficial effect on the business, increasing efficiencies and capacity and speeding up production enabling them to turn around orders far more quickly.

Consort Equipment Products broke into the Chinese market in 2012 and has recently despatched its latest and largest £200,000 order for four different sized electric panel heaters destined for a new housing development.

Economy Minister Edwina Hart said: “ It’s good news to hear how support from the Wales Economic Growth Fund is having a real impact on businesses throughout Wales. In the case of Consort Equipment Products it is enabling them to invest in new machinery and technology to take advantage of new opportunities in the UK and overseas markets.”

Mr Spankie said: “We are delighted with our latest order from China which comes on top of winning two new major contracts in the UK worth £1million helping to boost turnover by 35% to date this year.

“We installed the new punching machine in time for our latest volume order from China. It is equipped with 108 different tools as opposed to 18 on our previous machine which means we can switch jobs swiftly and increase our output - it has dramatically changed the way we can operate.”

Consort has a distributor in China and their factory is audited annually by Chinese officials to ensure it complies with the Chinese Competence Certificate- an essential prerequisite to sell goods in China.

Support from the Wales Economic Growth Fund has created and safeguarded jobs at Consort’s base in Milford Haven.