Dudley-based Alloy Heat Treatment (www.alloyheat.co.uk), which is said to be the UK’s first specialist in the heat treatment of aluminium alloys, is now offering a mobile service.

The company, which is a member of the Made in the Midlands manufacturing alliance, is aiming its new service at the additive-manufacturing (AM) market — the aerospace and motor-sport sectors in particular.

Sales director Ian Perks said: “The proposed service is currently being designed to be transported on the back of a fix-bed lorry.

“We aim to fill a gap in the AM market, as we feel that this innovation will provide a great benefit to aerospace, F1 and Moto GP organisations; and with the global AM market predicted to be worth more than $6.6 billion by 2026, we are hopeful that the service will attract plenty of interest.”

While “opportunities abound in the UK”, Alloy Heat Treatment is not restricting itself to these shores; it is looking at markets in Europe for additional growth.

Indeed, the company aims to load the service onto the lorry and then drive to a customer’s facilities and provide the required heat-treatment processes to tight schedules.

In conclusion, Mr Perks said: “Our company is AS9100-accredited, which gives us a ‘preferred supplier’ status to many aerospace primes.

“It would be fantastic to support these industries during the growth of AM. We really want to take part in the growth of this market.”