3/11/2014 1:50:00 PM
HEADLINES
PERSPECTIVE: Fastener Manufacturer Shifting to India
Automotive fastener manufacturer Philidas Ltd. has shut down, costing the U.K. city of Ponetfract 28 jobs, and manufacturing is shifting to India, the Pontefract & Castleford Express reported. Philidas fasteners have been distributed globally to customers including BMW, Jaguar, Ford and Bosch.
The firm Francis Kirk & Son had taken over locknut-patent holder Philidas after it went into administration in April 2013, but now is shifting production to a nut manufacturer Simmonds Marshall Ltd. in Mumbai, India, Fastener+Fixing reported.
Philidas opened in 1942 and has manufactured at a 90,000 sq ft site in Pontefract since 1960. Philidas manufactured by cold forming up to sizes M20 plus larger parts being bar turned. Philidas manufactures in steel, stainless steel, brass and aluminum. Philidas fasteners are distributed globally to customers including BMW, Jaguar, Ford and Bosch.
“It’s devastating what has happened to the firm but I think a lot of us saw it coming,” one employee told the Express. “To me, it’s as if the firm took Philidas on but never wanted to make it work because they have sold the brand to a firm in India. I’ve got three children to support and I’m going to be out of work. There aren’t many other places where we could transfer our skills across.”
Francis Kirk & Sons issued a statement that the Philidas “business and brand had suffered under previous ownership but during the last nine months it has shown positive signs of development in what has been, and remains to be, a difficult market place for manufacturing in the U.K.”
Francis Kirk is going into partnership with Simmonds Marshall, “an established and respected family business of 54 years in the fastener industry,” in order “to safeguard and ensure the necessary investment for the future development of this important brand.”
Simmonds Marshall now has a “manufacturing agreement for all Philidas product in order to secure the brands position in the market place. They will be allocating considerable investment in manufacturing whilst Philidas Distribution Ltd. will be committed to hold and distributing the product range,” the Francis Kirk statement explained.
Philidas Disribution will begin operating out of Denton, Manchester February 1, 2014, “and will assume the stocking and selling activity of Philidas through its established network of distributors and customers.”
Simmonds Marshall manufactures Nylon insert self-locking nuts and other special fasteners primarily for the automotive and industrial markets. Simmonds Marshall says its customers include General Motors, Fiat, Honda, Caterpillar, Suzuki, Leyland, Dana and New Holland. The company states it can produce 500 million nuts annually in a range from M4 to M48 diameter plus equivalent imperial sizes and bolts from M5 to M70, plus bar turning centers capable of making automotive components. Simmonds Marshall can manufacture to American, British, Japanese, ISO and Indian standards.
Simmonds Marshall was incorporated in 1960 in technical and financial collaboration with Firth Cleveland Fastenings Ltd. U.K. holding 51% of equity. In 1986 the company went public and is now listed on the stock exchange. Web: simmondsmarshall.com
Tom Kirk, director at Francis Kirk, told the Express that the “decision to close Philidas came due to a lack of commitment in the market place and an order book that could not support the high overheads incurred in British manufacturing.”
“We are in discussion with SML about opportunities for employees to experience Indian culture and employment out in Mumbai so all avenues are not shut,” Kirk said. “The main thing is to keep the Philidas brand in the market place and available to the industries that require it.”
Kirk denied Philidas was being sold quickly out of administration. “It is untrue that anyone is buying the company – that is furthest from the truth.”
Once named Infast Philidas, the company had been a branch of the Haden MacLellan engineering group since it was acquired from B Elliott in 2000.
One European observer commented to GlobalFastenerNews.com that “Philidas has been unviable for a long time through a series of factors – more investment, questionable management, Anixter as a dominant customer, heavy reliance on automotive sector etc. I believe Francis Kirk were genuinely trying to give it a new lease of life.” Email: sales@Philidas.com Web: philidaslimited.co.uk ©2014 GlobalFastenerNews.com and Fastener+Fixing.
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