A fast-growing precision engineering firm has announced a £4 million expansion plan that will double the workforce by creating 40 new jobs and triple production.
The investment by the American owners of Continental Diamond Tool (CDT) will include moving to a 30,000 sq ft factory that’s nearly three times the size of its current premises in Kinmel Bay and is less than half a mile away on the Tir Llwyd Industrial Estate.
The move is being hailed by staff as the “perfect birthday present” for the North Wales operation which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, having been founded as Consort Precision Diamond in 1984, specialising in the manufacture of diamond-encrusted rotary dressers and grinding wheels.
The niche outfit – still one of only two similar companies in the UK – supplies a range of manufacturing sectors, including aerospace, automotive, medical and semi-conductors.
Its products are used in Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner aircraft, as well as the Airbus range A330-A380 whose wings are made at the giant Airbus factory in Broughton in Flintshire.
The firm was taken over and rebranded in 2018 by CDT which has its headquarters in New Haven, Indiana.
News of the investment was delivered by company President Nick Viggiano, during his visit to the Kinmel Bay site, along with Shane Vardaman, CDT’s President of Sales.
The bigger factory will enable the company to increase the range of products they make, adding several new types of high precision grinding wheels.
Nick Viggiano said: “Things have worked out even better than I thought and the investment is a real big vote of confidence in the workforce here because they have a similar work ethic and there’s good camaraderie between everyone.
“We expect to be three times the size we are in a few years’ time because there is a very big market for the products we are going to bring over here.
“We expect a swift ramp-up. Given our extensive expertise with these products in the States, we can help the team over here to quickly hit the ground running.
“The new building is like a blank canvas so we can set everything up exactly the way we want, so we’re very excited about it.”
It was as sentiment endorsed by the American Managing Director, Jeff Wirth, who said: “This investment has been a long time coming, with six years of preparation and teambuilding leading up to this moment.
“Our Kinmel Bay team, known for their rotary dressers, has already started producing electro-plated products on a small scale.
“Moving to the new building that’s nearly three times the size will give us the space to expedite that process. Additionally, we plan to manufacture two vitrified products and a hybrid product in the new space.
“This is a big step and it goes hand in hand with the expansion we’re doing in the United States.
“It comes down to Nick having a belief in the people and the team. This is going to put rocket boosters under the company to continue with the growth trajectory.
“With everything consolidated under one roof, we will get to lay it out to maximise efficiency instead of having to work around the nooks and crannies of the current building.
“The accommodation will also be improved for the employees with nice fresh locker rooms and a cafeteria.
“Nick has a supercharged, can do mentality and we expect to be up and running in the new building in the first quarter of next year.”
According to Finance Manager Michaela Lawton, the Kinmel Bay staff were delighted to have the opportunity to finally meet Nick and Shane in person.
She said: “We have a solid leadership team here and a fantastic workforce that has the full backing of our American owners and it’s clear that the team here has proved itself worthy of this massive investment.
“It’s going to be a process over the next few years, with recruitment, upskilling and training and a lot of capital expenditure on fitting out the new factory with the specialist equipment that we need.
“We are aiming to follow in the footsteps of our American counterparts who have seen huge growth over the last 10 years.
“They’ve gone from our current size to employing over 200 people and we want to follow the same path.”
Justin Hughes, the production manager in Kinmel Bay, has worked at the Kinmel Bay site for 17 years and is the son of the retired technical director, Peter Hughes, who was among the founders of Consort Precision Diamond.
He said: “The takeover has been a marriage made in business heaven because the operations on both sides of the Atlantic dovetail perfectly with each other.
“The news about the investment is incredibly exciting and is the perfect birthday present as we celebrate our 40thanniversary.
“It will undoubtedly inspire us to reach even greater heights and become a truly global player. The sky really is the limit.”
