MORE than £2 million worth of additional sales have created 12 new jobs at a Redditch-based firm.

It follows a £1.3m investment programme at Thermex Ltd, on North Moons Moat, which included the installation of new ovens, a tube expander and fin press.

This allows the manufacturer to develop bespoke performance coolers for turbo charged engines used in marine and industrial applications.

Supported by the Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP), the company has developed high-performance shell and tube heat exchangers, as well as expanding their range to include air blast radiators, oil coolers and specialist brazed plate variants.

The company is heading towards £6.5m turnover in 2017 after winning work to supply new technology to customers in marine and the off-highway vehicle sector.

Managing director Julian Crossley said: "We have enjoyed significant success in 2017 so far, but that is no accident. It’s something we have planned for in our business strategy and the recent expansion of our capabilities has given us the platform to launch new products and given us the capacity to take on additional work.

"There has been renewed interest from the marine sector for our expertise and this has led to the introduction of new liquid cooled charge air coolers that offer greater performance and can be produced for specific applications."

He added: "Innovation and agility are two of our greatest assets which allow us to compete and often beat rivals a lot larger than ourselves."

Thermex has also been focused on developing a Low Carbon Resource Efficiency strategy to reduce rising energy costs and to avoid the looming possibility of increasing available electrical supply capacity.

The company turned to the MGP to help it with initial planning, who then brought in Pro Enviro’s Nersi Salehi to oversee the implementation of the new processes.

These focused on installation of new energy efficient ovens and gas powered heating and drying systems, as well as some good practice processes and greater awareness amongst the workforce of their responsibilities.

The MGP, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and delivered by Economic Growth Solutions (EGS), is promising to fill the void left by the Manufacturing Advice Service (MAS) by providing access to specialist assistance to help manufacturers grow and improve.