$1bn sales allay Howden jobs fears

CONCERNS that the US takeover of Renfrew-headquartered engineering group Howden could lead to job losses have been allayed by figures which reveal that its sales topped a record $1 billion (£640m) last year.

Chief executive Ian Brander told Scotland on Sunday that the company, which employs 550 staff in Scotland, was in a “very positive situation”.

Despite the global downturn, Howden, which specialises in industrial equipment such as air compressors, saw a 23 per cent rise in turnover – with sales up by 46 per cent in the final quarter alone – to $1.07bn in 2011 with the year-end order book jumping 41 per cent to $922m. Profit figures for the full year are not available because of US accounting rules following the takeover, but for the first nine months of the year operating profits rose by 48.6 per cent to £15.9m.

“Our end markets in power, oil & gas and mining are strong and although there has been some softening in industrial markets in Europe, on a worldwide basis projects are still moving ahead,” said Brander, who also cited increasing environmental legislation as a factor driving growth in the business.

Brander said Colfax, which paid £1.5bn to acquire Howden’s parent company, Charter International, late last year, was supportive of the Howden management team’s strategy and in terms of staff levels there was “no foreseeable change”.

“You never know what is round the corner in terms of economic conditions, but the business indicators are very positive for us,” said Brander, a Strathclyde University graduate who has worked with Howden since 1983 in a number of roles.

Howden employs more than 4,000 people worldwide, including 900 in China.