This time last year, production machinery was on its way to Simmonds Marshall in Pune, India and the customer base was being serviced from a small stock held at the Philidas Distribution unit in Denton, Manchester. A company statement this week stated that after six months of transition and dedicated effort, in both the manufacturing and distribution facilities, Philidas product is again being supplied to all major distributors and markets and confidence in the brand is growing again.
The brand has been re-introduced to many large European distributors several of which are now buying Philidas on a regular basis. Overseas interest in Philidas is increasing and export sales are growing. In the UK, many of the rail sector's big players, such as Network Rail, Bombardier, London Underground and others are showing great interest in the brand.
Meanwhile, stock availability continues to improve, the company says. In fact since September last year, there has been a 30% upturn in production in Pune with the factory now operating on three shifts out of a dedicated Philidas production unit.
Forging capacity has also been increased in the last couple of months.
Further improvements will follow as more planned investment will ensure the addition of new slotting machines during February 2015, the first real investment in Philidas for many years.
2015 has started well, the company claims with the rail and automotive sectors continuing to show strong growth with many exiting projects in the pipeline and with projected growth at 40% for the 12 month period ending in May, the future looks bright for Philidas Distribution.
