A MACHINE building firm is looking to grow its £3m order book in the next 12 months by expanding further into the European market.

Washington-based Orwin is one of the UK’s biggest automation and special purpose machine builders, and works with a wide range of blue-chip clients in both the domestic and overseas markets.

The company has continued to grow through the recession, and has taken on 15 new recruits since the start of last year on the back of particularly strong demand from European customers, to bring the total number of employees to 70.

Graduates and apprentices have been among the new recruits, and Orwin is planning to add to their number in the coming months, particularly on the technical side.

Orwin has sought an undisclosed sum from regional fund management firm NEL, which invested £250,000 back in 2008 to support a company acquisition it was undertaking. Irving Ramsay provided advice to Orwin on the most recent NEL deal.

Originally founded in the mid- 1980s, Orwin Ltd was primarily established to be a supplier to Nissan, but grew over time to service much of the region’s manufacturing industry, and subsequently expanded its operations both across the UK and into Europe and the US.

The company operates across a range of industries, from aerospace, automotive and electronics through to food and drink, healthcare and plastics, and provides a tailor-made one-stop shop service for customers, from initial concept through to final delivery.