A Colchester-based engineering group is moving two of its businesses into a new £1.4m factory, with five new jobs being created in the process.

Aquatronic Group Management plc (AGM) is the holding company for a range of businesses covering the manufacture and supply of water pumps and pressurisation units, bespoke gates and railings, sheet metal components and industrial tubes and fittings, together with engineering inspection services.

The companies include Aquatech Pressmain, a leading supplier of fluid handling equipment to the building services, process and water industries, which has just moved into the new state-of-the-art factory in Copford.

Aquatech Pressmain water pumps and pressurisation units can be found all over the world, in buildings such as the Tate Modern gallery, Heathrow Airport and The Burj Al Arab in Dubai.

Another AGM company, Renzland Powergates, which makes automatic gates for domestic and commercial properties, is also moving into the new unit, which is to be known as Renzland House.

AGM group chairman David Taylor started the business 45 years ago on his own, with one van. Today, the group’s businesses – which number five in all – operate a total of 50 vehicles and together employ 150 people.

Mr Taylor said that, with so much of the UK’s manufacturing capability having been lost, he was delighted that this side of the business was not only still profitable but thriving.

“We have always focused on providing a high quality product, meeting the needs of the current market, with a supporting service and maintenance department available 24/7 throughout the UK,” said Mr Taylor. “Our ethos has been to keep the values of a family firm and many of our staff have been with us for over 20 years.”

The new factory would enable the group to meet the challenges of the next 45 years, including the UK leaving the European Union, he added, so protecting the jobs of existing staff as well as creating new roles.

Other AGM businesses include installation, repairs and maintenance company AGM Pressurisation Services (formerly Acorn Pressurisation Services) and safety inspection specialist Esis, which are also based in Copford, plumbing and heating merchant OS Locke, based in Colchester town centre, and sheet metal fabricator A&R Engineering, based in Clacton-on-Sea.