KME STEELWORKS
SECURES STOCKS
N EWS
MEDICAL
PRODUCTS
MAKER
CREATES JOBS
Harmac Medical Products
is creating 60 new roles
in at its Castlerea campus
as it ramps up production
of surgical masks and
non-invasive ventilation
products.
Harmac’s facility in
Castlerea was established
in 1998. It has a
300-strong workforce and
allows the US company
to serve its international
client base.
President and chief
executive John F Somers
said: “All of us at Harmac
are very proud of what
we’ve accomplished
during this challenging
year by onboarding and
supporting these new
customers and their
products in record time.
“We take great
satisfaction in knowing
that our employees are
protected by masks made
by our team members
– and that our team
members are helping
people around the
world by manufacturing
products that will help
keep Covid-19 patients
alive.”
The expansion is
supported by the Irish
government via IDA
Ireland.
WWW.MADEIN.IE « JANUARY 2021 « 9
Aleading Northern Ireland manufacturing
and engineering fi rm which recently
invested over £2m in an expansion plan says
the rush is on to secure steel stocks before
possible Brexit restrictions are imposed on
January 1 2021.
Lisburn-based KME Steelworks Ltd. which
designs and manufactures bespoke steel
moulds for the construction and agriculture
sectors as well as producing large volume
subcontract components for a wide range of
equipment manufacturers, says the price of
steel has been rising sharply.
KME Steelworks director Seamus Murchan
says steel prices have increased by almost 25%
in the past three months.
“Steel supply is vital to our business as
everything we produce relies on our ability to
source good quality high grade steel,” says Mr
Murchan. “Due to the uncertainty that we face,
particularly in the early months of 2021, we
made the decision to substantially increase our
steel stocks before the end of the year. This was
to provide the reassurance and security to our
customers that our supply of product to them
would not be interrupted in the new year after
the Brexit transition period ends. We have put
in place suffi cient stock for a large proportion
of our fi rst quarter’s production.”
“Covid and Brexit are a double whammy for
the sector,” says Mr Murchan. “The challenge
lies with the steel mills, a sector which by
its very nature and scale is slow moving and
which in early Covid restrictions had to scale
back production as steel demand virtually
dried up. Now the mills are trying to ramp
production back up to meet renewed demand
which is expected to increase further in early
2021.”
KME Steelworks which recently invested
£1m in a state-of-the-art laser cutting plant,
now employs more than 70 people and
requires a minimum of 200 tonnes of steel per
month to manufacture its products.
KME’s moulds business includes the supply
of bespoke moulds for a wide variety of
concrete products.
“The moulds business has been surging
for us in recent months. The complex steel
moulds that we design and manufacture are
used for many applications. Recent examples
include drainage channel moulds for the
production of hundreds of miles of drains
along roadways, arch moulds for spanning
road systems and junction box moulds for
telecommunication applications.”
“On the subcontract side of the business
we are proud to have assisted our customers
achieve their growth targets with a reliable
supply of quality components with an
emphasis on timely delivery. One such
customer is a leading manufacturer of
compacting equipment for the recycling sector
which is also in a major growth phase, so our
ability to avoid any risk of disruption to supply
is critical for them to realise their targets ”
KME Steelworks recently invested £2m
to expand its manufacturing and fabrication
services while relocating to a new 65,000
square foot facility in Lambeg.
The company’s main market is the UK
and Ireland but also exports moulds to the
US, Canada and Spain and envisages further
international growth.
/WWW.MADEIN.IE