HISTORIC Cradley Heath manufacturing company Kimber Mills International has signed a money-spinning deal with other Midlands firms.

The Midlands Assembly Network is now targetting over £2 million in new sales after adding Kimber Mills metal forging capabilities.

Established in 1919, Kimber Mills does high quality forgings and machined parts in steel, stainless steel, carbon, aluminium and super duplex.

The firm, which employs 50 people in Gawne Lane, Cradley Heath and Coventry, currently exports 25 per cent of its annual turnover to customers in Canada, Dubai, Europe, Malaysia and the United States.

Tony Hague, MAN chairman, commented: “We are delighted to attract such a well respected company and one that shares the same values that we do, values of continuous improvement, world class performance and innovation.

“KimberMills has recently invested £1m into a new forge facility, one of only a few new ones seen in the region for years. This gives it the capability to produce oil and gas pipe clamps and brake/suspension parts for the automotive sector.”

He went on to add: “There are a lot of natural synergies with member firms like Alucast and Muller Holdings and these clusters are already in the process of being developed.”

Larry Joyce, Kimber Mills chairman, is delighted to be joining the newtwork.

He said: “MAN is a fantastic example of Midlands manufacturers working together to retain work and bring contracts home to the UK.

"We’ve been watching its development for some time and glad it felt we had something to offer.

He added: “We believe there’s about £1m of new orders we can secure from increasing our presence in markets like motorsport and F1, but the collective is much more than just the positive difference on the bottom line.

“I know there’s a lot of best practice sharing we can benefit from and there’s significant savings we can enjoy from making the most of our combining purchasing power on common items.”

The Midlands Assembly Network is a collective of eight sub-contract manufacturers and a specialist design consultancy who work together to win work at home and overseas.

The group, which features, Alucast, Barkley Plastics, Brandauer, Grove Design, Mec Com, Muller Holdings, PP Electrical Systems and SMT Developments, employs 700 people over 12 factories and this year will top £75m.