Costs drive engine repair back to UK

The Dutch operation, DMI Marine in Zwolle, which currently carries out reconditioning of large pistons, and overhauls valves and cylinder covers for two-stroke diesel engines, will concentrate on sales and distribution. The piston and valve work will be transferred to DMI (UK) in North Shields, while the cylinder cover business will be handled by DMI Drechsler in Hamburg, Germany. As a result of the reorganisation, engineering activity at DMI Marine will cease with immediate effect. The company says that it is more economic to carry out the engineering work in the UK, thanks to exchange rates.

DMI chairman Peter Jackson says: “We plan to invest in equipping and upgrading our factory in North Shields to take on the engineering work currently carried out by our subsidiary in the Netherlands. The reorganisation not only safeguards the jobs of our existing employees in North Shields, who are highly skilled, but means we will be recruiting additional staff locally in the near future.”

Jackson adds: “I would like to express my sincere thanks to staff at DMI Marine for their hard work and dedication over the years. However, exchange rate changes have meant it is now around 40% more cost effective to carry out this work in the UK and in today’s highly competitive market we have no choice but to switch production back to the UK and ensure that this part of our business remains on a sound commercial footing.”

The history of DMI goes back over 70 years and the company has been operating at its existing North Shields site since 1962. DMI (UK) is one of the largest electroplating plants in the UK, with a client base that includes BAe, General Motors, Honda, Jaguar, Saab, Toyota, Nissan, VW and MAN B&W. The DMI group has built up a global network of workshops covering most of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Australasia and the Middle East, and operations at these other sites will continue as normal.