Page 71 from: April 2008
UK-based company Master Mag-
nets is celebrating 30 years of suc-
cessful worldwide trading. Over the
years, the company has solved thou-
sands of magnetic separation prob-
lems for an extensive range of indus-
tries, providing it with a vast knowl-
edge of industrial applications.
Master Magnets has become es-
tablished as a major player in mag-
netic separation and material han-
dling equipment. But in addition to
its range of magnetic and non-fer-
rous separation equipment, two sig-
nificant acquisitions over recent
years have enabled it to offer a wider
range of products of interest to the
recycling sector, including shred-
ders, screens, metal detectors, can
flatteners, conveyors and complete
turn-key plants.
The company’s roots
Master Magnets was founded in
1978 by Geoff Worley, who had spe-
cialised in separation and its deriva-
tives during 15 years in the ‘magnet-
ics’ industry. He was joined by Sales
Director Cliff Walker who had
chalked up more than three decades
in magnet sales and who had also
built up extensive worldwide contacts.
The company started out in a
back office and sub-contracted its
production work to external manu-
facturers. Mr Walker led the sales
team and appointed agents from
around the world, some of whom still
represent Master Magnets today.
Meanwhile, Mr Worley managed the
engineering side of the business,
handling both the technical and pro-
duction departments.
Sales volumes increased during
the 1980s such that Master Magnets
was eventually in a position to es-
tablish its own manufacturing facili-
ty, a move which enabled the com-
pany to control quality and produc-
tion lead times more efficiently.
There was also an expansion in the
firm’s product range, services, capa-
bilities and workforce.
In the 1990s, the company in-
stalled new heavy-duty winding facil-
ities for producing larger and heavier
coils for its electro magnetic range of
products and a new super-strength
Magnetiser weighing 14 tonnes. A
laboratory was also set up during this
period to test clients’ samples and en-
able the company to specify the cor-
rect type of separator for any given
application, including mineral sepa-
ration. The latter part of the decade
brought the retirement of Mr Walker
after 40 years in the magnet trade.
Important acquisition
The start of the new Millennium
signalled some major developments
within the company, including an
expansion of its product range and
further improvement of its in-house
facilities.
In 2003, Master Magnets in-
creased its strength in the recycling
sector with the acquisition of Inte-
grated Recycling Systems Ltd (IRS).
This provided Master Magnets with
the opportunity to move to IRS’ cus-
tom-built, 17 000 sq ft factory and of-
fices in Redditch – at the heart of the
UK’s motorway network and close to
Birmingham International Airport.
As well as providing Master Magnets
with increased factory space, the fa-
cility also offered 30-tonne craneage
and easier transportation of its goods.
Master Magnets took to the acqui-
sition trail once again in 2005 when
buying Metal Detection – an elec-
tronic metal detector business estab-
lished for over 40 years which has
enabled the company to serve a
wider range of industries.
Looking ahead
Master Magnets now claims to be
the UK’s leading manufacturer and
supplier of magnetic separation, size
reduction and detection technology.
Mr Worley, who founded the busi-
ness, is now Chairman and continues
to have an involvement with day-to-
day activities. The company’s new
Managing Director is Adrian Cole-
man, who was appointed to the posi-
tion in 2007 after having joined the
company in the mid-1980s. He began
his career at Master Magnets as a
Technical Apprentice, going on to as-
sume a variety of roles within the
business, including Design Engineer,
Drawing Office Manager, Purchasing
Manager and Production Manager.
Since becoming Managing Direc-
tor, Mr Coleman has already been
instrumental in achieving reduc-
tions in product lead times, increas-
es in output and improved profitabil-
ity. The company is now planning a
further expansion of its product
range.
For more information:
www.mastermagnets.com or
www.metaldetection.co.uk
S U P P L I E R
Recycling International • April 2008 71
Attractive
prospects for
Master Magnets
Master Magnets of Redditch, UK, started from
relatively humble beginnings although its two
early leading lights could already count on many
years’ experience of the ‘magnetics’ business.
Three decades later, the company is known in the
UK and well beyond for taking on the trickiest of
magnetic separation problems. Refurbishing a Master Magnets 14-tonne Magnetiser.
Founder Geoff Worley (left) congratulates
Adrian Coleman on becoming Master Magnet’s
Managing Director.
Master Magnets’ production facility in
Redditch, UK.
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