Buyout will open up new opportunities for Broadland Radiators, say bosses

Diversification is in the pipeline for an oil and gas supply chain company after its leadership team completed a management buyout.

Broadland Radiators designs and manufactures engine radiators for industrial engines, but says the change of ownership will free it up to pursue business in sectors beyond the struggling oil and gas industry, which had made up 95% of its work.

Managing director Darrell Roper and colleagues Jamie Marshall, Christopher Goodson and Roly Cook completed the buyout from previous owners Pyroban, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc.

Mr Roper said it was 'business as usual' for existing customers, but that the company, based on Burton Road in St Faith's industrial estate, would now be looking at other sectors for growth.

'We still have contracts in the oil and gas industry to serve and complete, and we intend to continue doing that, but we were previously tied to having to work with Caterpillar dealers. Now we are free to approach other sectors directly,' he said.

'There are lots of parallel industries that use our type of products that we've not been able to approach, so we'll now be able to be more proactive.'

Mr Roper said power generation and data centres could offer potential for growth, though the company was open to any sector where bespoke cooling was required.

Broadland Radiators employs 12 people and last year turned over £1.6m, which the directors expects to remain stable over the next year.

Within the oil and gas industry, Broadland Radiators' has provided radiators for engines used to power well service equipment, such as air compressors, cementing units, generator sets, powerpacks, pumps or cranes.

Its units have been shipped across the globe, and are currently being used in almost all offshore oil regions around the world.

It has 2,900sq m premises at St Faith's industrial estate, where it produces radiators for engines from 70hp to 3,500hp.