The Thomas Dudley Group is investing £10m in a brand new foundry next to its current site on the Vaughan Trading Estate in Tipton. It will be the first new foundry built in the Black Country in recent years.

Thomas Dudley has been producing iron castings in the Black Country since 1920. Today the company engineers bespoke iron castings for a diverse range of industry sectors, as well as a range of bathroom products, including concealed cisterns, syphons and taps.

But for a company about to celebrate its centenary, it’s certainly not stuck in the past. The Thomas Dudley Foundry won the Black Country Chamber’s best use of technology, business of the year and innovation awards last year, and the group won an award for best use of technology in the Express & Star Business Awards this June.

In total, the company has invested over £25m in its facilities over the last ten years. Since buying the Sedgley Road East site in Tipton in 2014, a new moulding line has been installed, increasing manufacturing capacity by 50 per cent. Other planned developments include a new sand plant, a new extraction system and dedicated finishing facilities, including shot blast, core making, warehousing, a filtration plant, compressors and robotic fettling.

Construction has started on the new foundry, which will not only increase the company’s competitive advantage, but will also bring more job and training opportunities to the region. The Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills already offers foundry training at the Tipton site, and this new development confirms Thomas Dudley Group’s commitment to investing in local people and skills development.

With the UK castings industry seeing an 11 per cent boost in business this year, major investments such as this send a very positive message to other manufacturers in the Black Country.

Think Sandwell wishes the Thomas Dudley Group all the best for its ongoing construction and looks forward to announcing the opening of the foundry. To find out how we can help your business grow, visit our business services pages.