Telestack to extend manufacturing capacity

Company continuing to invest in Northern Ireland to meet international demand for its products

NORTHERN Ireland-based mobile material-handling equipment specialists Telestack are to expand their manufacturing capacity with initial investment in a new 45,000 sq ft factory on a greenfield site close to their current 105,000 sq ft facility in Omagh, Northern Ireland. The new phase one facility will incorporate state-of-the-art manufacturing premises, a dedicated research and innovative development centre, and a modern office suite.

Northern Ireland is globally renowned for its engineering acumen and the expertise within Telestack has grown significantly during the firm’s 34 years in business. The company currently employs nearly 160 staff and, addition to its Aggregate and Mining Group, has developed another material-handling niche in the ports and inlands terminals sector, designing and manufacturing equipment to load and unload dry bulk materials on to vessels up to Panamax/post-Panamax.

Supplying some of the largest blue-chip companies in the world, sales at Telestack have more than doubled in the last three years and the company has invested almost £4 million in its current Bankmore site in the last two years alone, including a state-of-the-art shot-blasting facility, two paint booths and additional manufacturing capabilities.

Explaining what the local investment means for Telestack and the people they employ, managing director Martin Dummigan said: ‘Telestack have grown rapidly over the last number of years and we have firm plans to double our revenue again in the next three-and-a-half years.

‘Having outgrown our current facility, we need to extend our manufacturing footprint to meet the international demand for our products. We have made a conscious decision, even in the face of Brexit uncertainty, to invest locally. We have a unique skill base in Omagh and we need to protect Telestack’s engineering acumen. As we move through 2019, we will be recruiting for a variety of disciplines, including manufacturing, design, sales and aftermarket support.’

Telestack have a large and varied international portfolio. The company has recently designed and manufactured the largest mobile bulk reception feeder in the world, which is currently loading aggregates on to barges at rates in excess of 14,000 tonnes/day for a large American multinational corporation.

Telestack have also recently installed a loading unit as part of the multi-billion-pound Thames Tideway Tunnel in London. Tideway are building a major new ‘super sewer’ that is urgently needed to stop millions of tonnes of sewage overflowing into the river Thames.

At 15 miles in length, 7m in diameter and in places up to 65m deep, the Thames Tideway Tunnel is the biggest infrastructure project ever undertaken by the UK water industry. Fed via a fixed conveyor, the Telestack unit is positioned at the end of the tunnelling process to load the tunnel clay on to barges.

Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Telestack are currently completing the installation of a £5 million system for the Port of Salalah, in Oman. The equipment here represents another ‘global first’ for the company in terms of innovation, providing a unique ship-loading system to handle the additional capacity needed by the port.

The four-unit installation comprises two ship-loading systems, each consisting of a TB60 all-wheel-travel shiploader fed by a Titan dual-feed, all-wheel-travel, 800-6 bulk reception feeder. The equipment is designed to load limestone, gypsum and cement clinker on to Handymax and Panamax/post-Panamax vessels at rates of up to 1,200 tonnes/h.

Representing the next generation in mobile ship loading, this new installation is said to offer all the performance of traditional systems but with the added benefits of mobility, flexibility and, ultimately, lower cost per tonne through increased production rates and reduced cycle times and labour costs.

Building on the successes of 2018 and aiming to continue their global penetration, Telestack say they start 2019 with their largest-ever order book, including projects in Africa, the US, South America, Europe, Russia and Asia.