Albion gears up for growth
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by Toby Clark • Albion Automotive, formerly part of the collapsed Leyland Daf empire, is set to increase production massively over the next five years. The Glasgowbased component manufacturer introduces the TruckDrive range of axles in September, and will double the size of its crankmachining line in Leyland, Lancs.
The latest development is a £20m management buy-out funded by venture capitalists Candover Investments, supported by the Bank of Scotland, with further reinvestment of £ 17m over the next five years. Albion is making an operating profit, and a turnover of £52m is projected this year.
Albion has been independent since the receivers' breakup of Leyland Daf in November 1993; the management team led by Dan Wright has added product development and sales and marketing functions to what was purely a manufacturing firm. The number of customers has grown from four to 13, and longterm contracts include an eight-year agreement to machine Perkins crankshafts. Initial growth predictions proved pessimistic due to the recovery in the truck market and the willingness of the firm's 780 employees. "We are extremely immodest about what has been achieved," says Wright.
Albion's expansion is unlikely to create many jobs, but the workforce has already increased from 440 immediately after the collapse.
Four ex-Leyland Daf companies—Daf, Leyland Trucks, LDV and Multipart—now represent 75% of Albion's business. It also supplies articulated construction equipment maker Artix and axles for minibuses in South Africa and Thailand. Truckdrive is its new range of axles for light/ medium trucks, and the firm is in negotiation with "a number of leading European CV manufacturers".