Manoir Industries, the historic iron and steel group from Ayr, is taking over UK ownership.

Global competition is fierce in the metalworking and complex parts manufacturing industries. Manoir Industries, founded in 1917 and based in Pitre (Ayr), knows this well. In 2021, he spent months looking for a buyer so as not to disappear. In October 2021, it appeared to be a surprise when it was bought by Chinese investment fund CAM SPC.

But hopes for a rebound quickly faded: after the start of a recovery in 2023, marked by turnover of 86 million euros (+40% year-on-year), a level last reached in 2017, the Asian buyer was unable to finance the development of the metals group’s activities.

Therefore, a new plan had to be developed with the participation of the state through the interministerial office of corporate restructuring, the Normandy region and EDF. The aim is to help the company resume management while retaining all staff, including 440 employees at the Pitres site. Now the deal is done with the British family company Paralloy Group: the commercial court of Paris formalized the agreement this Thursday, June 20, 2024.

Manoir Industries specializes in the production of precision alloys for the petrochemical and nuclear industries. The company already produces critical components for 900 MW and 1,300 MW power plants installed in France or abroad. It is also present in the defense industry, for example, in the production of tips for the Caesar cannon, sent to Ukraine.

Defense and nuclear energy under attack

Through the takeover of the Paralloy Group, Manoir Industries joins a group that already has five plants and 530 employees and achieved a turnover of 120 million euros in 2023. “Yesterday our two companies, which are more than a hundred years old, were competitors. Today we become allies. This is a fantastic opportunity. We will survive and dominate our markets,” rejoiced Robert McGowan, UK managing director, during a visit to the plant.

There he met with representatives and union workers with Hervé Morin, president of the Normandy region. The latter emphasized the support of the region in this takeover: “We fought like dogs to save this company. It wasn’t easy. We succeeded there because we were confident in this buyer, a family business. »

Hervé Morin, former defense minister, also insisted on the importance of maintaining this activity for the entire region: “We are in a sector with a gigantic future: in defense, where military budgets are growing rapidly, but also because the resumption of nuclear energy offers incredible prospects in our region, 25 years of service to companies thanks to EPR2 work at Penleigh Nuclear Power Station. »

“We live in a world where more electricity will be needed,” concluded the President of Normandy, and “Manoir Industries is one of the last foundries in France with the skills to respond to these markets.”