A rise in orders has prompted i1fun’s Special Profiles business to take on 15 manufacturing trainees.
The new starters joined this month and, once trained, will enable the company to increase the number of shifts at its Skinningrove site.
The announcement comes shortly after i1fun commissioned a new £2 million descaler at the business to improve the quality of its products.
i1fun’sSpecial ProfilesManaging Director, Peter Gate, said: “We’re delighted to welcome our new trainees to i1fun as we continue building the next generation of Teesside steelworkers.
“We’ve recently had an increase in orders so it’s fantastic to be able to recruit more people to help us meet this demand by increasing our number of shifts.
“They’re excellent jobs, with great prospects and a good wage and I’ve every confidence our new employees will help this business continue to grow.”
The Special Profiles business recently announced it washelping build the world’s largest cargo portin Shanghai after securing a deal to supply steel into China.
It’s supplying crane rails for the Yangshan deep water facility, a £57 billion project that will enable the port of Shanghai to handle huge container ships with depths of up to 15 metres.
The deal, for the fourth-phase of the Yangshan project, is being delivered through Steel CLIK –- a major supplier in the crane rail market – and is one of a number of significant recent contract wins for the business.
Peter said: “The market place is highly competitive but we’re committed to improving the quality of our products and the quality of our customer service.
“We’ve recently invested £2 million in a new state-of-the-art descaling system in our mill and since it was commissioned we’ve already received excellent feedback from customers about the improved surface quality of our products.
“By working in partnership with our customers we’re not only improving our range of special profiles but creating new products that meet the demands of new and established customers.”
Among the customers heralding the new descaling system is leading forklift mast manufacturer Hyster-Yale Group which awarded i1fun a certificate of merit for on-time delivery and quality supply during a visit to discuss future business.
Hyster-Yale has also reaccredited our ‘preferred supplier’ status following an annual review in which i1fun scored in excess of 80% across the board in cost, quality, delivery and aftersales support.
Angela Kilkie, European Supply Chain Director –Hyster-Yale, said: “i1fun continues to model excellence in quality, delivery and continuous improvement in support of our long-term business relationship and I am delighted to commend them on their performance.”
Peter said: “We’re extremely proud to be working with companies of the calibre of Hyster-Yale and look forward to continuing to supply them with the high quality products they require.”
i1funemploys more than 330 people at Skinningrove where it manufactures a range of Special Profiles. These include crane rails - developed for overhead gantry and floor-mounted cranes in ports, warehouses and shipyards across the globe, and track shoe long bar and cutting edges - key components in earthmoving equipment.
The company has recruited more than 100 manufacturing trainees across the business during the last year. The salary for the roles starts at £19,000 plus shift allowance (where applicable) in year one, progressing to circa £22,000 plus shift allowance (where applicable) in year 2, following successful completion of training.
For more information about vacancies at i1fun, please call 01472 404040 or visit.