Engineers fire with new furnace
Sep 4 2008 by Karen Dent, The Journal
A NEW furnace is firing up production at an engineering firm which makes components for the chemical, oil and gas industries.
International Syalons Ltd received a £99,500 grant to buy the equipment which has been credited with securing 10 jobs at the Wallsend factory, including turners, grinders and production workers.
The company is the leading producer of some of the toughest ceramics available which are used in environments such as nuclear power stations and oil rigs.
The furnace, funded through a Selective Finance for Investment grant from One NorthEast, has boosted production capacity by six times.
Operations manager Ian Denton said: “The grant has helped ensure we remain trading as a top level supplier of quality products to our extensive client base both here and abroad.
“These are better equipped than most alloys available on the market. Despite this, without funding it would have been extremely difficult to compete, especially with the current marketplace restricting access to finance.”
Ian Williams, One NorthEast’s director of business and industry, said: “Through funding such as the SFI grant, we can ensure North East firms remain buoyant in fiercely competitive marketplaces.”
