Product, service &
facility expansion
Having opened its new facility on the Telford 54 Business Park just four years ago (https://is.gd/fopobe),
Filtermist’s 50th anniversary year has seen it add 30,000 ft2 to its footprint in that same locality, in the
form of a distribution centre. Andrew Allcock was at the offi cial opening event in October
Established in 1969, Filtermist saw an
MBO in 1997 and was then acquired
in 2010 by Sweden’s Absolent AB,
which was established in 1993. Under the
managing directorship of James Stans eld,
the company has been on the acquisition
trail for three years now, hence the need to
expand its Telford operations
In 2016, Filtermist (https://is.gd/ugawoz)
acquired extraction equipment installer and
servicer Filtertech. That was followed by
Multi Fan Systems later that same year, a
designer, supplier and installer of custom air
movement, ltration and extraction systems.
In 2017, Dustcheck was added to the tally,
a manufacturer of industrial dust collectors
and industrial air ltration systems. Last
year Filtermist snapped up Dust Control
Solutions, a manufacturer and installer of
dust, fume, odour and pollution control
systems for industry.
This year saw the pace pick up with the
purchase of DCS Group, a designer,
supplier, installer and commissioner of fume
and dust extraction systems. DCS assets
included Ecogate Ltd and Gallito Ltd, which
between them manufacture a range of
industry-associated products, such as
FastClip ducting and microprocessorcontrolled
extraction optimisation systems
that are designed to improve extraction
ef ciency. Carter Environmental Engineers
(CEE) Ltd’s air services division followed.
The acquisition included the rights to
manufacture the Carter range of dustextraction
equipment, which consists of
dry-dust lters, booths and benches, and wet
collectors. Also this year, Kerstar has been
added, a producer of a range of cleaners,
including ATEX-accredited machines for use
in explosion risk environments, as was XS
Automation, a designer, manufacturer and
installer of bespoke process control panels
and cabinets. (Filtermist may also be offering
Canadian Diversitech air ltration and dust
collection equipment, following that
company’s purchase by Absolent.)
Following these purchases and the
opening of the new distribution centre, where
nal assembly, testing and stores will be
located, allowing component manufacturing
to expand on the existing neighbouring
location, the company announced that it is to
merge its current eight businesses into just
two: Filtermist International and Filtermist
Systems. The acquired product brands are all
being retained, however, including Dustcheck,
Ecogate, Fastclip, Gallito, Kerstar and XS
Automation. The restructured company will
operate and manufacture from locations in
Telford, Northampton, Wetherby, Dewsbury
and Glasgow. The Filtermist operation in total
now employs 250 people, including some
overseas staff.
The core business, Filtermist
International, is the oil mist collector activity
that is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Explains James Stans eld: “Now, the
strategy here is to continue exporting more
and more; we’ve still got a huge export
potential for that product and that will always
be one of our primary drivers for growth.
SUPPLY SIDE INCREASING BREADTH & DEPTH
Above: Seam welding of various Filtermist system components
Left: Filtermist’s product range, manufactured in the existing Telford facility, where
component manufacture will now be centred – assembly, test and stores will be
within the new distribution centre
34 November 2019 www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets
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