New warehouse investment set to spearhead AWI’s growth

Black Country-based Alloy Wire International (AWI) has set its sights on future growth after it announced work had begun on a new warehouse.

The UK’s leading manufacturer of round, flat and profile wire is spending over £500,000 into the construction of a dedicated 2,880ft² space alongside its existing Narrowboat Way factory.

Designed to help the firm meet increasing global customer demand for its material, the investment includes the doubling of electrical capacity with an application submitted to increase input to allow for the installation of more machines and a new furnace. It will also mean AWI can hold up to 400 tonnes of stock when the expansion is completed in June and this safeguards security of supply to its clients for the foreseeable future.

Tom Mander, managing director designate at AWI, said: “We finished 2021 with two record months and we expect March to be our best-ever order intake, as the world’s manufacturing sector tries to protect itself against future supply chain disruption.

“Interest is coming from all the markets we supply, whether that is oil and gas and nuclear, or spring making, medical and advanced engineering. This has given us the confidence to press the button on our latest investment and the additional warehousing we are going to need.

Increased choice of products
He continued: “This investment gives us the confidence and, importantly, the platform, to increase our stock range and explore new alloys that offer different solutions to our clients. Other new investments are planned over the next 12 months, including a new multi-head spooling machine in our annealing section and a wet drawing machine for very fine wires between 0.002in to 0.005in. This will give AWI customers increased choice of products, improved spooling, tighter tolerance and improved quality.”

AWI manufactures round, flat and profile wire in over 60 exotic alloys, such as Inconel, Monel, Hastelloy, Nimonic and Rene 41.

Founded in 1946 by John Stockdale in an old ambulance station in Old Hill in the Black Country, the company’s founding principles of ‘manufacturing quality, delivering reliability’ has stood the test of time and remains a crucial part of how it deals with its 5,000-strong global client base.

Today, the firm is employee-owned with most of the staff owning shares in the business, a decision made by existing chairman Bill Graham and the current senior management team.

Mr Mander concluded: “Our staff continue to go above and beyond to meet the requirements of our customers, delivering the best quality wire within two to three weeks of the order being placed. Few companies can match this delivery performance.

“The technical team has also been busy at work exploring the possibility of using our material in additive manufacturing and the introduction of new alloys in our range.

“Inconel 617, a nickel-chromium-cobalt-molybdenum-aluminium alloy, is our latest addition. This delivers a combination of increased strength and stability at elevated temperatures (up to 1,100°C), while retaining the high temperature corrosion resistance of Inconel alloy 601.”