Acquisition of ANCHORPAC range of Waste Handling equipment by Cornish company

The Penryn based engineering company, Metal Surgery, has acquired the Anchorpac range of Waste Handling machinery and equipment from the former owners, AP Waste Handling Ltd.

Metal Surgery has been building units for the former owners of the product range as part of its policy of developing greater manufacturing capabilities within Cornwall following the move of the business into a new factory unit on the Kernick Industrial Estate two years ago.

Company Secretary, David Hines-Randle, said "This is a major milestone for the business. We have been developing our manufacturing business over the last two years by building equipment of a contract basis for companies like AP Waste Handling, Dando Engineering, the long established drilling rig company based in Littlehampton, as well as other contracts."

"We have now acquired the rights to manufacture the product range of Anchorpac. These are probably the best available in the rapidly growing market for waste handling equipment and the range includes waste compactors, balers, sludge containers as well as a variety of other equipment and we will be building these products at our factory in Penryn".

"After the closure of Compair in Camborne a few years ago there has been a reduction in engineering and manufacturing in Cornwall and it is encouraging to see the return of some manufacturing to the County. We don't anticipate large scale production which is generally in decline throughout the UK, with competition from places like India and China, but we do see the business filling a niche in the market for smaller scale production of specialist equipment" said Mr Hines-Randle.

"At the moment there are still specialist skills available in South West Cornwall and we will certainly be looking to take on more engineering staff over the next few months, particularly those with welding, fabrication and assembly experience, as well as some further investment on modern machinery".

"I believe this represents a great opportunity for us as well as the future of engineering in this part of Cornwall. We'll certainly be looking at the future and plan to recruit some more apprentices later so that valuable local engineering skills can be passed on to the next generation" added Mr Hines-Randle.