West Suffolk-based AJN Steelstock, one of the eastern region’s leading steel suppliers, has acquired a site in Somerset to support its growing customer base in the Westcountry, the Midlands and Wales.

The 17-acre site, at Henstridge, between Yeovil and Shaftesbury, has previously been used for steel stock and is expected to support the creation of around 100 new jobs when it opens in the autumn, rising to 150 within 18 months.

Courtney Bell, finance director at AJN, said there would be no negative impact on the company’s existing 11-acre site at Kentford, near Newmarket.

“We have been searching for a suitable site for some time,” he said. “We wanted a site which would keep us in contact with our customer base, one that is close to major transport hubs and one that would allow growth in line with our expansion plans. The new Henstridge site is a perfect fit geographically for AJN as we already cover East Anglia, the Home Counties, East Midlands and London.”

AJN’s workforce has already increased from 105 to 145 in the last year, with 2014 having seen the business generate record turnover of £44million (representing about 63,000 tonnes of steel) compared with £36m in 2013.

AJN supplies steel products to a wide range of clients in the construction, agricultural, architectural, food processing and automotive sectors, The new site will increase its sales capacity to around 150,000 tonnes a year.