Major Ministry of Defence Supplier Investment into New Facility
William Cook says the British Army would ‘grind to a halt’ without the work of Cook Defence Systems.
MoD supplier Cook Defence Systems has unveiled the results of a £5m investment which has been made amid a booming global defence market. The family-owned William Cook group produces components for the rail, defence and energy sectors and its site in Stanhope, County Durham, is the epicentre of its defence operations.
Cook Defence Systems is a strategic supplier to the Ministry of Defence, as the only British manufacturer of tracks for the Army’s tanks and armoured vehicles.
Its tracks are used on the Army’s next-generation AJAX reconnaissance vehicle, being built in Wales by General Dynamics.
It is also flying the flag for British manufacturing, exporting tracks to allied armies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, aiding a jump in sales in its most recent accounts, for the period ended June 30 2018, with revenues soaring by 35% from £13.5m to £18.2m.
Now Conservative MP for North West Durham Richard Holden has visited Cook Defence Systems to see the new £5m investment into its new facility, which recently became fully operational.
Mr Holden toured the site at Stanhope with group commercial director William Cook, to meet with employees and see the new machining facility, where its specialist steel-and-rubber tracks are cast, machined and assembled.
Mr Cook said: “We were delighted to host Mr Holden and introduce him to our company, which supports 130 highly skilled jobs in Stanhope, 340 at our sister factories in Sheffield and Leeds and hundreds more in the British supply chain.