Cost of living crisis: Sheffield manufacturer Mincon Carbide signs ruinous electricity deal
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Bosses at Mincon Carbide said they were forced to sign up with the seventh ‘within the hour’ to secure a deal - at an increase of 470 per cent.
It saw the Attercliffe firm’s electricity bill leap from £160,000 to £911,000 - a jump of £751,000. Profits last year were £500,000.
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Hide AdGeneral manager Alan Lockwood said he called the 46-strong workforce together to warn them of the crisis threatening the future of the near 100-year-old business.
He said: “I had to sign or we could have been left with no supply. I’m furious. Somehow we have got to manage our way through this but we need some serious government assistance and quickly. At the moment I’m unaware of anything.”
The firm, based on Windsor Street, was forced to put up prices due to the energy price hike, but one of its largest customers had responded by ‘looking elsewhere’, he added. And the problem was too big to be tackled by making redundancies.
The firm supplies tungsten carbide products used in drilling worldwide.
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Hide AdMr Lockwood said: “Our current three-year electricity contract ends on October 1 and for several weeks we have been trying to negotiate a new contract with the assistance of a professional energy broker.
“Last week we were informed that several large energy suppliers would no longer quote for new business and the rates that were available were increasing almost by the hour.
“In order to ensure we could secure supply, we eventually signed a new contract, which we had to complete within the hour to secure the offer.
“Last year, the business recorded a profit of £500,000, so you can imagine what impact this unprecedented increase will have on our company.
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Hide Ad“If our situation is typical of the Industrial energy costs, I genuinely fear for the long-term viability of manufacturing in the UK.”
Sheffield MP Clive Betts has written to the two Conservative leadership candidates about the cost skyrocketing bills.
He said: “Whoever is the next Prime Minster cannot ignore businesses like those in my constituency who face a financial precipice. There needs to be an urgent package of support."