Telford manufacturer grows with £2.3 million acquisition

The Telford company, which makes oil mist extraction equipment for factories, hopes the deal will allow it to expand in the UK, and to capture new sales overseas.

The move will see Dustcheck remain in its current home in Stoke, under its current name, while reporting to the T54-based company. It will also retain its 32 staff and add £5 million turnover to the £15 million Filtermist expects to achieve in the current year.

Filtermist managing director James Stansfield said: "Filtermist has an extremely ambitious growth strategy and we are confident that this latest acquisition will play a key role in ensuring the company meets its targets.

“We are both forward thinking UK manufacturers with more than 40 years’ experience in our respective industries, we both offer a full turnkey service and we both recognise the value of offering extensive aftersales support. And, probably most importantly of all, both companies also place great value on recruiting and retaining the best people for the job.

“Filtermist is extremely excited by this deal and we are confident that it will result in continued growth for both companies.”

Filtermist itself was taken over by the Swedish Absolent Group in 2010, and this is the third takeover deal it has completed of late, with the most recent being Multi Fan Systems at the back end of last year.

Mr Stansfield added: "This is the third acquisition that Filtermist has made, and the biggest so far. It's a big step and won't be the last."

The company had started to look at dust extraction when it took over Multi Fan Systems, but the latest addition gives it access to a new market which will allow it to grow in the UK, and to use its existing export routes to take its new subsidiary overseas.

The company employs 32 people in Stoke, and has no plans for cost-cutting in order to make the group more profitable, and will instead focus on growing sales.

Ensuring the fit was right was also a priority for Dustcheck founders Ed and Di Spires.

Mr Spires said: “As a family run business Dustcheck has played a significant role in both mine and my wife Di’s lives. We have spent the last 39 years building the company into one of the UK’s leading dust extraction providers and we are very proud of our achievements.

“We wanted to be sure that whoever took Dustcheck on would continue to operate it in the same spirit that we have. We were delighted when Filtermist expressed an interest as it has an excellent reputation in its field and a clear ambition to successfully extend its capabilities into removing a wide range of airborne contaminants in addition to oil mist.”

Ed and Di Spires will be retiring from Dustcheck, whilst all other staff will remain at the company’s office in Stoke-on-Trent.