Sandwell based Malthouse Engineering has recorded a boost in turnover in 2011 as it won new customers, as well as increasing orders from existing clients.

The company said sales jumped at the steel profiling company, based in Oldbury, to £17m for the year to 31 December 2011, a rise of more than £3m on last year’s figures and a 50 per cent increase compared with 2009. Malthouse also increased it staff levels by 11 to 161.

Pre-tax profit for 2010 was £200,000. The 2011 figures have not yet been released.

“This shows that as a country we are starting to move out of the financial situation we have faced over the past two years,” managing director Roy Taylor said.

“At Malthouse Engineering we have seen an upturn in orders from existing customers but also significant interest in our services from new customers.”

The company supplies more than 42 different sectors, including nuclear, oil and gas, automotive, agricultural machinery and earth-moving machinery and has five sites across the UK in Oldbury, Worcester, Wakefield, West Bromwich and Wednesbury.

Taylor added: “Its always been a priority of mine to ensure that no one sector or market accounts for more than 3 per cent of our turnover. By doing this we maximise returns and when one sector is in severe decline it is balanced by another in its ascendancy. This way we ensure the overall business is not impacted by any downturn.

“I believe, and so do colleagues in the manufacturing industry, if enough of us got together to talk about the positive performances of our businesses then perhaps we could start turning the tide of negativity and give the UK economy a boost.”