Engineer AES posts record profit of £56m on major factory investment

An engineering firm that made seals for the Thames Barrier has announced record profits after a major investment in its ‘factory of the future’.

Founded in 1979 by entrepreneur Chris Rea, AES has 2,000 employees in 43 countries. The company’s sealing devices are used in pumps used in industries such as petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and paper and pulp.

Recently filed accounts show pre-tax profits rose from £48m in 2022 to £56m in 2023, while turnover rose £26m to £260m.

This is despite capital expenditure of £31m, including a manufacturing facility at its headquarters in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, to improve automation and productivity.

“My new factory is my yacht and the machines inside it are my Ferraris,” Rea told The Mail on Sunday.

“We have removed all unnecessary human intervention from the process.”

Rea calls AES a “trustworthy company” that helps companies save energy and water and operate cleaner and more profitably.

“Our business model depends on making things work longer, which is a complete disruption in our industry,” Rea said. “There’s not a single piece of equipment in the world that we can’t make more reliable.”

Rea, 70, shared a £12m dividend with minority shareholder 3i, which has backed AES since 1996, making it the buyout group’s oldest investment.