BIRKBY'S PLASTICS
UK injection moulder in administration after failure to find new owner / 370 jobs at risk
Automotive injection moulded component supplier Birkby’s Plastics (Liversedge / UK; www.birkbys.co.uk) has been placed in administration, effective 3 April, putting some 370 jobs at risk. The business has a turnover of GBP 25m (EUR 30m) but has been operating at a loss for several years and is not financially viable currently, according to Hunter Kelly, joint administrator at Ernst & Young (London / UK; www.ey.com/UK). He said an extensive sale process had been undertaken since the start of 2012 but added that Birkby's had failed to identify a purchaser prepared to make an acceptable offer for the business and its assets, although around 60 parties had expressed interest.
Birkby’s Plastics has 71 injection moulding presses on its 24-acre (9.6-hectare) site. They range from 25 t clamp up to 2,000 t. The first-stage processes incorporate multi-cavity moulding, insert moulding, over-moulding, two-shot moulding, low pressure injection-compression moulding, in-mould decoration, structural foam moulding and gas injection. Post-injection finishing processes include painting, hot plate welding, ultrasonic welding, laser welding and multi-component assembly. The automotive product portfolio includes mud flaps, glove box assemblies, accelerator pedals, grab handles and seat back covers. Birkby’s principal customers are Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover. It also has extensive product design, prototyping and toolmaking facilities.
Large customers continue to be supplied by Birkby’s while the administrators identify alternative suppliers. They said the banks had been very supportive and had not forced the company into administration. Meanwhile, the GMB union said it would seek urgent talks to see what options there might be to save jobs.
Established in 1867, Birkby’s Plastics has always been a prominent name in the UK plastics industry. However, it has enjoyed a somewhat chequered ownership and management history in recent years. Most recently, it underwent a management buyout in 2008 and that parent company, Verve Industries, is also now in Ernst & Young’s administration.
Birkby’s Plastics has 71 injection moulding presses on its 24-acre (9.6-hectare) site. They range from 25 t clamp up to 2,000 t. The first-stage processes incorporate multi-cavity moulding, insert moulding, over-moulding, two-shot moulding, low pressure injection-compression moulding, in-mould decoration, structural foam moulding and gas injection. Post-injection finishing processes include painting, hot plate welding, ultrasonic welding, laser welding and multi-component assembly. The automotive product portfolio includes mud flaps, glove box assemblies, accelerator pedals, grab handles and seat back covers. Birkby’s principal customers are Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover. It also has extensive product design, prototyping and toolmaking facilities.
Large customers continue to be supplied by Birkby’s while the administrators identify alternative suppliers. They said the banks had been very supportive and had not forced the company into administration. Meanwhile, the GMB union said it would seek urgent talks to see what options there might be to save jobs.
Established in 1867, Birkby’s Plastics has always been a prominent name in the UK plastics industry. However, it has enjoyed a somewhat chequered ownership and management history in recent years. Most recently, it underwent a management buyout in 2008 and that parent company, Verve Industries, is also now in Ernst & Young’s administration.
12.04.2012 Plasteurope.com [222062-0]
Published on 12.04.2012
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