Strong demand for its defence-related products has put Wiltshire specialist manufacturer Avon Rubber on course for an improved financial performance this year.
The Melksham-based group, which last week announced an order with the US Government for its gas mask filters worth a potential $38m (£23.4m), said it is on track to achieve year-on-year growth in orders from military and homeland security markets.
The upbeat message came in a trading update to the City for the period from April 1 to August 17.
The firm has developed a range of respirators and filters which have become standard military issue in the US and UK and are also used by police and other protection agencies. However, strong sales in some areas came against a backdrop of severe constraints on budgets in other key markets which limited sales of some respirator products.
While its US-based ISI subsidiary experienced better demand for its unique combination SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus)/respirator, the ST53, its core US domestic fire market remains weak due to reductions and delays in Federal funding for fire departments.
At Avon’s AEF business, which makes skirts for hovercraft, order intake continued to be negatively affected by delays in US Department of Defence (DoD) orders, the group said.
Demand for the group’s dairy products, which include parts for milking equipment, was robust during the period and while input costs have remained volatile, Avon said it had been able to pass these through to customers.
Looking ahead, Avon said: “We have successfully met the challenges of a continuing period of instability in the global defence market, benefiting from our long term sole source contract with the DoD and the growing demand for consumable filters, together with our expanding range of products, which are becoming the respiratory protection equipment of choice. Reduced volumes in certain markets have been more than offset by a better sales mix and improved efficiencies.”
