Nineteen out of 35 jobs at an electric generator manufacturer have been saved after its business and assets were bought out of administration on Wednesday.
Ipswich-based G & M Power Plant and sister business G & M Acoustic Solutions Ltd in Colchester collapsed at the end of July with the loss of 47 jobs after attempts to find new investors to save them failed.
Chris Laughton and Peter Godrey-Evans of accountancy firm Mercer & Hole were appointed on July 31 as administrators for the £7million turnover business, and as liquidators for G & M Acoustic Solutions Ltd, which had annual sales of under £1m and made cases for the generators.
Tex Holdings plc, based on the town’s Claydon Business Park, has now acquired the assets and business of G & M Power Plant. Meanwhile, the Colchester business could not be salvaged and has been liquidated, with the loss of 12 jobs.
Mr Laughton, who was initially involved in trying to find new investors before the companies’ collapse, said the business, which supplied the marine industry globally as well as large rail and other infrastructure projects, was a late casualty of the recession which had simply run out of funds.
“Essentially, the business ran out of money and it recognised that its position would only get worse if it didn’t find a new investor. It went to the market to find a new investor, and the only way it proved possible to save it was, after it went into administration, to sell the business and assets to Tex Holdings,” he explained.
“If you are dealing with very significant projects, they have a hugely long lead time. Very often this kind of power generator would be at the back end of the project,” he said.
“The generators are among the last things to go in. Therefore, it’s very very late in the recession that the market slows down.
“In 2009/10, nobody was commissioning new ships, new railways or new hospitals so in 2015 there has not been the need for new generators.”
The firm was owned by a single shareholder who had been providing significant funds but reached the point of not wishing to provide any more, he said. The new company name will be G&M Tex.
David Redhead, non-executive director at Tex Holdings, explained that Tex Holdings firm BSP already made power packs for hydraulic hammers and the framework for these was basically the same as those made at G & M. “We felt it just fitted nicely and we are very excited about it because we think it’s going to be a very positive acquisition for the group with hopefully more employment.”
Tex Holdings is a manufacturing group with companies involved in plastic injection moulding, boards and panels and engineering and had a turnover of £36m in 2014 with a profit of £1.2m. It employs 425 staff across the UK.
The Tex Holdings Engineering division consists of four companies, all based at Claydon Business Park - BSP International Foundations, which produces pile drivers, hydraulic power packs and ground improvement equipment, Tex Engineering which makes a range of construction equipment for roads and utilities and Tex ATC which manufactures air traffic control towers. A fourth company, Eurotex, which maintains and services marine diesel power plants is based in Brightlingsea.
“G&M Power Plant Ltd will be managed as a separate entity and has retained 19 jobs. It is expected to benefit from a number of synergies with the above existing companies in the Engineering Division,” said Tex.
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