A £1 MILLION state-of-the-art forge has been unveiled in Cradley Heath.

Kimber Drop Forgings, which employs 27 people at its Gawne Lane site, is hoping the forge will boost sales in automotive, petrochemical and rail.

Backed by the Regional Growth Fund and Sandwell Council, the new facility will be fully air-conditioned, sound proofed and features a 70cwt hammer suite capable of producing forged parts up to 75k, 5kg bigger than its previous best.

Larry Joyce, group chairman, said: “You don’t hear about many new forges being built in the UK, so we’re delighted to put our sector on the map with this sizeable investment.

“Like many businesses we had a tough time during the recession of 2009 and had to make decisions that didn’t come easy.

"However, we managed to battle through it and have now got to the stage where turnover has hit £4m, a slight increase on what we were doing before the global dip.”

He added: “To move us to the next level we needed to increase our capacity and our ability to supply customers with larger components. Rather than patch up existing plant, we decided to build a new forge which is a rarity in the Black Country in recent years.

"We will also have to employ five new people to make the most of the new capacity, with a number of these expected to be apprentices."

The £1m investment is now complete and Kimber Drop Forgings is striving to attract new work to feed into the facility.

The firm has also contributed to the reshoring drive, taking the decision to bring oil and gas pipe clamps previously produced in Poland back to the UK. This is £100,000 of work and will directly employ two local people.

Geoff Turnbull, managing director, added: “One of the things I’m really excited about is that we can now offer a turnkey package, from really small components to large ones weighing over 75kg.

“This immediately opens up opportunities to supply new oil and gas customers, not to mention making stronger inroads into automotive, construction, mining and tunnelling.”

He added: “We’ve conservatively said £5m, but with what we have in the pipeline I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t hit £7m sales by 2016.”

Established just after the World War Two in 1946, Kimber Drop Forgings offer high quality forgings and machined parts in steel, stainless steel, carbon, aluminium and super duplex.

The firm currently exports 20 per cent of its annual turnover to customers in Canada, Dubai, Europe, Malaysia and the United States.