A Caerphilly manufacturer of high-spec valves used in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries has been given £190,000 by the Welsh Government to help its expansion.
Hobbs Valve Ltd, based on the Trecenydd Industrial Estate, has used the cash from the Economic Growth Fund to buy a fully equipped machine shop double the size of its current premises.
The company, started seven years ago, is facing high demand for its products of highly specialist patented industrial pipeline valves.
Ten jobs have already been created due to the expansion bringing staff numbers up to thirty six. The company has also benefited from a £175,000 loan from Finance Wales.
Chairman Alun Hobbs described the funding as massively important for the company and ensured the investment came to Wales as the company were considering opening another facility in India.
Mr Hobbs said: “All our manufacturing is in-house but the machining element was sub-contracted and some suppliers were struggling to keep up with demand, costs, quality and delivery on time.
“It now means we have better control over these elements. It is a massive expansion for us and grant assistance from the Welsh Government helped us to stay in Wales and provides us with a platform for further growth.”
Business Minister Edwina Hart described it as another example highlighting how the Economic Growth Fund is playing an increasingly important role in supporting the growth of Wales based businesses.
She said: “It is really pleasing to hear of businesses like Hobbs Valve being able to expand and create jobs through Welsh Government support. It is vitally important that companies have access to finance to take advantage of market opportunities as they arise.”
Mr Hobbs said Hobbs Valve has enjoyed a £1m year-on-year growth and has ambitions to grow to a £40m/£50m annual turnover business.
He added: “We are experiencing considerable demand for our products but the size of our premises was constraining growth – we were literally running out of space so this investment was very timely. Our increased capacity means we can service larger orders and grow more rapidly.”
It is one of only three companies in the UK solely producing this type of valve and one of around thirty in the world. The company currently has less than 1% share of what is a $1billion industry and aims to become one of the top ten global suppliers and has objectives to take a 5% share of the market.
The company has just completed a £1.8m contract to supply valves for the ballast systems of two new ships to be built in the UK.