An Order from the Queen has provided welcome respite from spiralling metal prices for an engineering firm.
Patera Engineering, which employs 16 people in Fenton, has agreed a deal to supply 150 stainless steel posts for hand rails around Buckingham Palace.
It has worked with the Royal Collection, which buys on behalf of the monarch, for 15 years and has also won orders from Windsor Castle, St James' Palace, Lord's cricket ground and the Victoria And Albert Museum.
The latest deal has helped the family company increase annual revenues by more than 50 per cent, despite the price of some metals soaring by as much as half since the turn of the year.
Technical director Shaun Lees said Patera is now looking to take on more staff, but it has come up against a hurdle in trying to find qualified workers because of an industry-wide shortage.
He said: "This is a big order for the company. It has got to be getting on for 1,000 posts around the gardens that we have supplied for the palace now.
"It isn't our biggest order, but it gives us a lot of prestige to say we have been working with the Royal Collection for years.
"We have a letter every year from the Royal Collection thanking us - which we don't get from all our clients."
Patera, which makes mechanical equipment such as conveyors, architectural metalwork and structural steelwork, first won the Royal Collection contract through links with architects Sir Michael Hopkins and Lady Patricia Ann Hopkins.
Mr Lees said he could not reveal the value of the Buckingham Palace deal or the company's turnover.
However, he said Patera has just taken its biggest-ever order to supply and install 100 tons of steelwork in central London art gallery EC1.
The deal to supply and fit the steel is expected to be completed in the next three months.
Sentinel Business reported earlier this month how soaring oil prices and incessant demand from the Far East has pushed up metals costs.
According to steel consultancy MEPS, the composite carbon steel trading price has risen by almost 48 per cent since the turn of the year.
Mr Lees said the cost has to be passed on to the customer, but it has not impacted on demand.
The company is currently looking to increase its workforce at its Oldfields Business Park base.
It has advertised for platers and fabricators in recent months, but has been unable to fill the positions.
Mr Lees, whose father Chris founded Patera, said: "We are after three or four new staff at the moment, but it is tough. We have been looking for the last four or five years.
"This trade has been left high and dry. You have got to work hard, but you can earn good money and you get the satisfaction of seeing something you have made from start to finish."
Has your business won an order you are proud of? Email us at
businessdesk@thesentinel.co.uk.
Source: The Sentinel
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