Torque-Expo

March 2017 saw record sales for mechanical seals and bearing protector specialist AESSEAL. Sales reached just under £16 million, nearly £2 million greater than the previous record breaking month for the business.

The company also reached a record landmark of £100 million in net assets. Founder and Managing Director, Chris Rea has hailed the success as a ‘magnificent achievement’.

In a message to all 1,700 staff he said: “In a time of decline for all of our major competitors, due to the low price of oil and the lack of business in that area, this is a magnificent achievement. I remain convinced that people are the most important ingredient for business success and the results are testament to your hard work and commitment to customer service. I am proud and delighted with all of you for what you have done and continue to do to give our customers exceptional service.”

AESSEAL on course to top £160m

AESSEAL is on target to beat a target of £160 million sales for 2017.

“Part of it has come from the weakness of sterling, which means that international sales have been translated into a higher sterling number. We have also been helped by the fact that we had a 23-day month as in 2017 Easter falls in April. Nonetheless, March saw another important milestone, in that our group had £100 million of net assets after depreciation, supporting our £160 million-plus 2017 sales target.”

It may appear questionable over-investing in the business, however Rea stated: “In my view, investment in our future is a key contributor to our ongoing success and that with higher levels of investment in people and infrastructure like machine tools and information technology, we get sustainability and with it security for all of us. In short, we did get a record sales month and coincidentally the £100 million milestone of net assets invested in the business could be a part of the reason for a sustainable business.”