Since it was founded 150 years ago, Somers Forge has built a reputation around the world for the excellence of its forging and general engineering.
And owners the Folkes family have a history in forging that goes back even further their heritage can be traced back to 1697, when they began forging on a water helve a trip hammer powered by a water wheel on the banks of the River Stour in Lye.
Somers Forge Ltd was founded in 1866 and is now headed by managing director Tammy Inglis. When it comes to the key factors in the sustained success of the business, Mrs Inglis believes that diversification has been key, as well as the continued support and investment from the Folkes family.
In turn, the family attributes much of the success of its other interest, Folkes Holdings (folkesholdings.com). With its roots in engineering dating back over 300 years the business now invests globally in commercial real estate, predominantly in the UK and South Africa.
The Folkes familys operations in real estate, engineering, finance & investment, tourism and agriculture have provided a sound business model for continuous growth and investment.
Somers Forge remains committed to technological advancements in forging and heavy engineering whilst maintaining the core traditions valued by employees and just as importantly by its long list of international customers.
Export markets have been served since the companys early beginnings and today include customers on all five continents.
Somers has a unique manufacturing capabilities in open die forging presses and hammers. The smallest hammer can produce forgings as small as a single kilogramme in weight whilst the state of the art 4,000 tonne press, commissioned in 2000, can produce a forging of more than 40 tonnes in weight with a length in excess of 20 meters all from a 60 tonne cast ingot.
The forges are complemented with sophisticated heat treatment furnaces and testing equipment which enables materials to be supplied for critical applications such as aerospace and nuclear industries.
The many people passing the factorys doors at Haywood Forge in Halesowens Prospect Road each day would be in awe of the machinery operating inside. Commuters delayed by a slow moving truck in Halesowen which appears to have a metal tea cosy over the trailer were probably behind a delivery of a hot steel ingot being transported from a steel works in Sheffield to the heavy forge at Somers.
The ingot could have weighed up to 60 tonnes and would have been at a temperature of 300 degrees centigrade. This method of delivering hot material was {rst championed by Somers when it worked with the Round Oak steel works in Brierley Hill during the late 1960s. While that steel works has passed into memory, Somers has continued with its combination of traditional skills and the latest in engineering technology.
The Haywood Forge machine shop has an array of CNC machines including turning and boring lathes capable of turning and boring shafting in excess of 20 meters in length, and milling machines with three and five-axis CNC capabilities.
The latest investment in machine tooling is a monster CNC vertical and horizontal gantry saw which can cut through a 1.5 metre thick piece of steel both vertically and horizontally The domestic and international closed die forging industry (also known as drop forgers) have utilised material grades specially developed by Somers for their tooling for more than a century.
It is almost a certainty that die shops around the world have experienced working with Somers branded die materials Electem No 5 or Somdie, which offer extended die life compared to that of competitors.
Within the facilities in Halesowen these materials are stocked in various dimensions enabling off the shelf delivery times.
For over 30 years the American market has been serviced from a sister company based just outside of Detroit, Michigan. The defence market is embedded in Somers history, having being placed on the Admiralty list before the First World War, Somers has remained a critical and loyal partner to the UK Navy.
The companys expertise in manufacturing high specification naval ship propulsion shafting has also seen it supply many of the worlds other navies. Somers is unique in this field and also holds approvals for refurbishing naval shafts.
This significantly reduces cost and time when compared with producing a new shaft. In addition this can also save in expensive dry docking fees for the vessel. As well as supplying direct to the Ministry Of Defence Somers boasts a prestigious customer base of original equipment manufacturers to the defence industry - Bae, Rolls Royce and Babcock to name but a few.
Supplying components to a diverse range of industries including defence, power generation nuclear and conventional, gears, tooling for dies, aerospace, oil & gas and general machinery manufactures and more, Somers has become a one stop shop for its customers.
Somers heritage and service to industry is obvious on entering the building, with its traditional wood panelled board room and reception area walls peppered with an impressive display of quality approvals from both third party inspection authorities and individual customers.
Photographs of naval parts supplied, patents, letters of recognition to service to industry and signed photos following the Queen Elizabeth II visit in 1957 further endorse Somers experience and reputation throughout its 150 years. As it continues to look to the future, Somers is keen to promote heavy engineering with the younger generation, taking on apprentices and investing in further and higher education of its employees.
Earlier this month it hosted a visit from the BBC filming for the childrens education program Absolute Genius. Mrs Inglis said As we now look forward to its next 150 years we are confident that Somers will continue to supply forged products of quality, competitively throughout Europe and the world market place.