#ukmfg #nissan Argus Powerbend, a pipe-making firm based in Sunderland, has created 10 jobs after a £500,000 investment. In addition to making tubular seat frames for the Nissan Leaf, it is also producing tubes for the Japanese car maker’s new Note model. It also makes hydraulic pipelines, medical equipment and parts for tractors, trucks and construction
machines.
Founded in 1978 as Dunlop Powerbend, the company says it is “flourishing” after being affected by the credit crunch. Its strong book has been bolstered by recent
orders from companies such as Caterpillar, JCB and John Deere.
Quality engineering director Johan Swanepoel said: “We have added new orders to our existing contracts, which means we can look to expand our workforce. January and February were exceptionally good, but March and April have been even busier, and that is down to a lot of hard work by everyone involved. We have grown every year since 2008, through a big export drive and winning customers such as Caterpillar Brazil, JCB and Nissan.”