Boldon Colliery engineering firm seeks bigger site following several contract wins

A local company has won several new contracts and has plans to relocate to bigger premises.

Boldon Colliery-based Sapphire Engineering, which provides engineering services and skilled labour to regional and national customers, has seen a positive performance in the last six months, with an increase in business targeting core markets.

With turnover exceeding £1m, the company has won contracts worth over £250k, providing additional engineering services and workshop projects to customers who include TT Electronics, Greggs and TRW Electronics and De La Rue.

Managing director, Alan Hedley, who established the company in 2003, is looking to expand the business as it aims to improve capacity.

This will coincide with a planned move in the near future to a new 7,000 sq m factory unit, built on a plot of land purchased by the company near to Hebburn-based Prince Consort Road Industrial Estate.

Alan expects Sapphire will retain a strong pipeline of work over the coming 18 months, despite economic uncertainties.

He added: “We are now busier than ever, and we’re involved in developing newprojects right across the region and beyond, which is extremely encouraging and contributing to growth.”

Sapphire Engineering has also won an undisclosed contract from one of the region’s MRO providers - NBT Group - to build and install a range of specialised advanced automated parts vending machines using RFID storeroom automation.

New work has boosted workforce numbers with a core team of 10 people now employed with plans to create additional engineering roles as workload volumes continue to rise.

Alan concluded: “As our customers’ own investment and growth plans come to fruition, we are seeing steady demand for skilled labour, which is also augmenting the growth of our core engineering experience and technical skills.

“Regardless of all the uncertainty around Brexit, we are confident and expect the sectors we support to remain busy, and we look forward to exceeding our customers needs from our new factory.”

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