Indian-Origin Family Firm Picks Up More Caparo Units

London: An Indian-origin family firm, which had acquired one of the units of UK-based steel firm Caparo Industries, owned by noted NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul, has announced the acquisition of further businesses from within the group.

In an agreement with administrators PwC, the Gupta family's Liberty House Group acquired parts of Caparo's advanced engineering products and precision strip businesses based at sites across the West Midlands region of England.

The move follows the Liberty's purchase two weeks ago of businesses in Caparo's Tubular Solutions division, now renamed Liberty Tubular Solutions, and marks a widening of the family's strategy to invest in UK manufacturing and engineering.

"These businesses contain some world-leading knowledge and skill that has the potential to contribute to a significant engineering revival in the UK."

"Despite current difficulties, advanced engineering can create enormous value for the UK economy and I'm convinced that, based on the right business model, operations like these have strong growth potential in the UK and across various markets internationally where Liberty is present," Liberty House Group managing director Sanjeev Gupta said.

The engineering businesses - now called Liberty Advanced Engineering Products - command a high-profile customer base, with products including anti-vibration systems for naval vessels and high performance braking systems for NASCAR, London Taxis, US Yellow school buses, the upgraded Warrior Land Rover, featured in the new Bond film 'Spectre', as well as the iconic T1 Evolution Hyper Car.

The former Caparo engineering and precision strip businesses being acquired employ over 600 people. Together with the Tubular Solutions jobs saved earlier, this acquisition brings the total to more than 950 jobs.

Gupta explained that Liberty Advanced Engineering Products would be focusing on increasing sales and new product development for the aerospace, defence and automotive markets.

"Acquisition of key Caparo assets underpins our strategy to integrate from liquid steel to finished engineering products, which we will continue to build upon in the UK," he said.

Liberty recently restarted production of hot rolled coil at its rolling mill in Newport, South Wales, and hopes eventually to recommence melting operations at the same site which has an arc furnace already in place.

The rolling mill has current capacity to produce around 1 million tonnes of coil a year.