Dudley steel stockholder Meridian Metal Trading enters administration
A steel stockholding business which has its headquarters in Dudley has entered administration.
Meridian Metal Trading, which was formed in 1987, employs around 170 people across several locations in the UK including service centres in Guildford and Sheffield and sales offices in Bolton and Newport, South Wales.
It is unclear at this stage how many jobs may be affected in the Black Country.
Allan Graham and Matthew Ingram, both of professional services firm Duff & Phelps, were appointed joint Administrators to the company based at Grazebrook Industrial Park, Peartree Lane, on Tuesday.
“Meridian is one of the largest, fully independent steel stockholders and processors in the UK and one of the best known stockholders in the sector. The Company processes steel sheet and coil, and supplies close to 250,000 tons of steel to hundreds of customers annually.
“It is our intention to continue to trade the business until a buyer is found, a process that we do not think will take long as there are already a number of expressions of interest. As of today there have been no redundancies and it is very much business as usual,” said Mr Graham.
“We are receiving great support from the experienced workforce, suppliers and customers to find a positive outcome," he added.
The company had been in talks with its five main suppliers, credit insurers and Secure Trust Bank for months after a potential sale fell through. Meridian has been having to pre-pay for steel.
It is a leading supplier of galvanised, hot rolled, cold reduced, electro zinc and aluminised slit coil sheets and sheared blanks in both drawing and high strength grades.
The head office has a warehouse of more than 150,000 sq ft linked to fully integrated real-time computer systems, which allows Meridian to offer just-in-time deliveries.
The Sheffield and Guildford service centres offer cut-to-length slit coil and blanks in a range of grades and surface conditions.
