Thatcham company Mettal-UK Limited establishing itself as a heavyweight as a supplier of materials to the construction industry

A Thatcham-based company is making a name for itself as one of the leading players in the metal fabricating industry.

Mettal-UK Limited, as the name suggests, fabricates materials such as aluminium, steel, galvanised steel and copper and supplies them, predominantly, to clients in the construction industry.

In addition, the company offers a full in-house design service, ranging from 2D computer automated design to full 3D modelling to deliver the highest possible quality of finish.

It also has an in-house powder coating service, which gives the fabricated metal a finishing coat and a quality look – a feature many fabricating companies don’t offer.

The fact that Mettal-UK Limited is a 'one -stop shop' means it isn’t reliant on outsourcing services to third parties – which enables it to “deliver materials on time, every time”.

This, perhaps, has been one of the reasons behind its incredible success.

The company is currently involved in the £9bn redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, the largest construction project in Europe.

It has also supplied the internal fit out materials and specialist architectural stainless steel that can be seen at Heathrow and Gatwick airports and Amazon’s headquarters in London.

In addition, it is currently heavily involved in supplying materials for the new Astra Zeneca plant in Cambridge.

Despite only being formed in 2018 and having to deal with the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, the company has increased turnover all three years of trading.

In fact, it has maintained profitability despite heavily investing in the business.

This period of exponential growth is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Since the start of the pandemic, it has taken on five additional operatives bringing the total number of staff to 14 – and the company plans to employ another two apprentices in the near future.

But it’s not just the staff it has invested in – Mettal-UK is continuously investing in the very latest laser technology and punching/cutting facilities too.

It has just purchased a fibre optic laser machine for £600,000 and last March invested £100,000 in a press break folding machine which allows steel to be folded.

As a result, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest problem the company has encountered is finding the space to put it.

Mettal previously occupied a 2,600 sq ft unit in Pipers Industrial Estate, but soon outgrew that and last March, just as the pandemic hit the UK, moved to a larger, 6,000 sq ft unit just across the road.

Managing director George Darling said he attributes Mettal-UK Limited's success to the fact it "supplies the materials on time every time".

Mr Darling said that despite Covid, the construction industry “just hasn’t stopped from day one”.

When asked why he thought the company had been successful he said: “I think it’s because we are a one-stop shop.

“There are a lot of fabricating companies out there who just fabricate, but where we have in-house powder coating we can do it all on site ourselves.

“We’ve used third-party powder coaters before but then struggled with turnaround times.

“Being totally in control of what we are doing means we can supply materials on time, every time.

“We solve problems. When a customer can’t find a solution we go the extra yard to achieve that solution for them.

“When people tell us it can’t be done, we find a way to get it done.”

As well as supplying fabricated metal to clients in the construction industry, it also manufactures rain screen panelling and supplies a huge amount of stainless steel products for architectural markets.

Mettal-UK Limited also spends a lot of time developing systems and investing in the research and design of new rain screen systems and fire cladding.