News: Mayflower Engineering finds success in new sectors

South Yorkshire's Mayflower Engineering is showing how specialisation and diversification into new niche markets can be the perfect method of recovery from the recession.

The business, which underwent a management buyout in 2008, was immediately faced with the full impact of the banking crisis resulting in a near complete withdrawal of capital funding from the marketplace.

The Sheffield-based firm lost nearly 50% of business from regular customers, most notably Corus Steels.

The new management team of Kevan Bingham and Glyn Hobson devised a strategy to face the difficulties head-on, by diversifying into niche markets. This has led to gaining new business in sectors as varied as sub-sea, off-shore, wave to energy, nuclear, rail, river and canal gates and bridges, military vehicles and waste recycling.

One of the biggest successes is the contract for the design and build of the next generation of autoclaves for Sterecycle's Rotherham facility.

The first of an intended three new waste processing autoclaves has been successfully shop assembled and tested at Mayflower's plant assembly workshops in Rotherham.

The £1.4m contract with Sterecycle for the design, manufacture and installation of the new up-rated municipal waste processing autoclaves was secured in 2010 against stiff competition and will replace the two existing vessels at the Sterecycle plant in Templeborough in early 2012, providing a substantial increase in processing capacity.

Glyn Hobson, operations director at Mayflower Engineering Ltd, said: "We are very pleased in how the design and development of the new rotating, pivoting, heated, pressure vessel has been undertaken in close collaboration with Sterecycle's engineers to produce an autoclave to the highest construction and safety standards and capable of meeting Sterecycle's operational demands at the Rotherham site for the next twenty five years."

"This is just one of a number of projects we have won following our decision to target new markets. It shows how if a business has the right skills and a strategy in place to succeed, that even the toughest economic conditions can be overcome."

Mayflower Engineering website
Sterecycle website

Images: Sterecycle