Midlands manufacturer lands Olympic torch deal

Alucast, which employs over 100 people at its Wednesbury base, has been chosen by Coventry-based Premier Group to undertake the tooling, machining and polishing for the torch's top and bottom caps using gravity casting technology to produce the aluminium components. They hold in place the inner and outer skin of the torch. Fifteen staff at the firm, from designers and technicians to quality assessors and casters, are involved in the project. Alucast managing director Tony Sartorius said the work showed off the manufacturing capabilities in the West Midlands and was "a great example of the positive impact the Olympics can have on all areas of the UK". Premier, which specialises in turnkey engineering and associated services, beat off international competition to secure the contract to manufacture the torch and has been responsible for setting up a supply chain to deliver the project. It approached Alucast after it was recommended by a business partner. "The parts supplied by Alucast are two of the most important components of the torch and we needed to work with a company that understood the design and could deliver the parts to the required finish and importantly, on time," said Premier's manufacturing director Gez Halton.