Alloy Wire International (AWI) shipped more than £650,000 of material to the Indian subcontinent in the past year, a 50% increase since the pandemic. The sales make up nearly 10% of the company’s overseas business and highlight a 45-year partnership with Indian agent Amit Banerjee.
Over the years, the Kolkata-based representative has built a customer base expanding with growing demand from spring, valve and fastener manufacturers in the automotive, aerospace and energy sectors. These companies need traceability, quality and faster lead times to meet production timelines.
“A lot of our export success has been built on finding the right partner on the ground, who understands the material we supply and the unique services we offer, including three-week turnaround times,” explained Tom Mander, managing director of AWI.
“We then collectively use their expertise and contacts on the ground and the relationship we have with Amit is a perfect example of this. It is one of our longest-standing agent agreements and, after 45 years, is getting stronger than ever with sales increasing rapidly.”
He added: “Last year we did over £650,000 of revenue and, this time around, I believe we can surpass that. Indian customers are working with some of the biggest OEMs in the world and need to make sure their components are on time and perform to the highest of standards – that’s where we come in.”
AWI added an 8,000-square-foot unit near its West Midlands headquarters to expand output. It manufactures round, flat and profile wire in 62 alloys, including Inconel, Monel, Hastelloy, Nimonic and Waspaloy. The company welcomed the India-U.K. trade deal announced by business secretary Jonathan Reynolds. Lower tariffs in aerospace, automotive and electrical machinery could reduce costs for customers and support U.K. growth. The added space positions AWI to meet rise in demand without longer lead times.
“We don’t always know who the end user is for our materials,” continued Tom. “However, I’m fairly confident that we are already supplying some of the 26 British companies who have secured new business in the Indian aerospace market.
“There is an appetite from both sides for closer relationships and we’re definitely going to invest in increasing our presence in this territory.”
Amit Banerjee concluded: “Alloy Wire International’s reputation for quality and material performance is really making waves in India. My customers also really appreciate the technical service it provides, including working with them on identifying the right alloys and the post-finishing processes we may need to apply.”
“The first 45 years have been very good, but this is just the start. With closer ties between the two countries, I can only see this relationship going from strength to strength.”
Source: Alloy-Wire International
About Alloy-Wire International
Alloy Wire International, founded in 1946 and headquartered in Brierley Hill, UK, with a U.S. office in Warwick, RI, manufactures round, flat and profile wire, bars and wire rope in more than 60 high-performance nickel alloys. The company supplies about 15 industries, including aerospace, nuclear, automotive, chemical processing, electronics, medical, marine and oil and gas, and ships to more than 55 countries. Alloy Wire operates two factories and holds stock of about 200 metric tons, allowing order sizes from 3 meters to 3 tons, lead times of two weeks and an emergency manufacturing service. Following a management buyout, the company reported revenue of about £18M in the year after the transaction, reflecting positive growth.