The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Fife IT cable factory at heart of data centre drive
DIGITAL: Leviton names Brand-Rex Fife as a fast manufacturing base for IT infrastructure
US headquartered digital network infrastructure group Leviton saw profits at its Brand-Rex arm climb last year as it positioned its Fife site to spearhead its growth in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Newly published accounts at Companies House show Brand-Rex Limited generated sales of £78.17 million in the year to December 31, up from £66.6m in the prior year.
Pre-tax profits also rose strongly in the year from the £4.1m booked in 2016 to £6.1m.
Brand-Rex is primarily involved in the design, manufacture and provision of high-speed copper and fibre based cable and connectivity systems used in IT networking and data communication infrastructure.
Following its acquisition in 2015, the firm’s site at Viewfield Industrial Estate in Glenrothes was designated as Leviton Network Solution’s European headquarters, with a sister operation in Leigh, Lancashire.
In response to customer demand, the group has moved to make the Fife site its new make-to-order data centre factory.
“During 2017 the group continued to invest in business process reliability and customer service; information and technology tools; research and development and manufacturing efficiency to support its growth strategies,” director Ian Wilkie said.
“The introduction (of) new European legislation for cables in the form of Construction Products Regulation (CPR), necessitated the development and launch of a complete new range of cables with higher fire safety characteristics.
“With increased levels of customer service being required to support the rapid installation practices deployed in vast data centres, the group unveiled a new make-to-order factory at its Glenrothes site dedicated to the fast manufacture and delivery of preterminated cabling.
“This new ‘Data Centre Factory’ will spearhead the group’s growth plans through Europe, Middle East and Asia.”
The accounts show the bulk of BrandRex’s sales – more than £45.5m – were booked in Europe in 2017.
The UK was the firm’s second largest market with sales of £17.83m, with the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australasia accounting for a combined £13.1m.
Sales into the US doubled in the period to £1.57m.
The documents also show Brand-Rex sustained an average 312-strong workforce in 2017, 195 of which were employed in the production element of the business.