Our History
Investacast is one of the world’s leading suppliers of investment castings, sand castings, pressure die castings, water glass castings and forgings, with manufacturing bases in the UK, Europe and Asia, and employing over 90 staff.
Origins
Investacast was founded by Gordon Harman in 1970 and originally located in Slough, Berkshire. After ten years of steady growth the directors made the decision to move to a green field site above Ilfracombe in Devon.
Global Sourcing and Expansion
In 1987 the current Managing Director joined the business as quality assurance manager. At that time the company employed 30 staff and had a turnover of £1m with all components being manufactured at its Ilfracombe foundry.
At this time the company started sourcing components from global suppliers, predominantly in Asia whilst expanding its UK manufacturing site to 15,000 sq. ft. to meet expanding demand.
In 1991, Investacast qualified for the British Standard on Quality Systems, necessary to demonstrate that all materials and finished product conforms to specified requirements, and in the late 1990s a programme of capital investment culminated in the installation of a fully state-of-the-art automated ceramic shell making system.
In 2007 Tony Buckland led a Buy in/Management Buy Out (BIMBO) with Chris Thompson and took over the business as joint Managing Directors.
Investment was channelled into expanding the global sourcing programme with high volume UK manufactured product moved to foundries in China and the acquisition of a 6,000 sq ft dedicated warehouse and inspection facility for finished components arriving from abroad.
Continued growth lead to a further expansion of the Ilfracombe foundry with an additional 2,000 sq ft facility in 2011.
Expromet Technologies Group
In 2017 Investacast was acquired by Expromet Technologies Group, a privately owned foundry group that also owns Haworth Castings, a leading sand and gravity die casting and machining company based in Hampshire, UK, and Metaltech Precision, a leading manufacturer of CNC machined components for a wide range of demanding industries based in Chard, Somerset.
Expromet Technologies Group is able to harness the capabilities of complementary high integrity, precision casting and machining businesses to deliver world class engineering solutions to its customers around the world. The group provides a wealth of knowledge and experience to ensure a seamless manufacturing process for its customers. From component design and prototyping through to casting, testing, finishing and stockholding, Expromet Technologies Group deliver solutions to the highest quality, safety and environmental standards.
