The new owners of a historic Bradford engineering firm, which has been bought out of administration, have promised to rebuild the workforce after recent redundancies and invest in new plant and equipment.

Thirteen remaining employees at Wyke-based Bradford Cylinders have had their jobs saved after the business was bought by the Cyrus-RW Group, a mechanical, polymer and electrical engineering services firm based in South Wales. The business has expanded significantly through acquisitions over the past ten years.

The new owners said Bradford Cylinders, which has operated for more than 100 years, would be a key part of a growth strategy to increase Cyrus-RW Group’s turnover from £10m to £25m in the next three years. The deal would also strengthen its small cylinder factory operation in South Wales.

Cyrus-RW Group also has operations Briton Ferry in Wales as well as Newcastle, Glasgow, Aberdeen and the Middle East serving a wide range of industries.

Ian Watkins, Cyrus-RW Group managing director, said: “We were attracted by the Bradford Cylinder name, the work and obvious skills of the workforce and long tradition of it being one of the UK’s number one hydraulic engineering firms.

“Sadly, many people lost their jobs when the firm went into administration recently but we intend to re-build the work force and will be recruiting in the future.

“Initially, our main focus is to build up Bradford Cylinder’s order book and invest in the business to improve the plant and equipment. At Cyrus-RW Group we have spent in excess of £3m in plant equipment in the last year so are well placed to strengthen Bradford Cylinders capability in this area.

“We have a strong track record of success turning around acquired businesses and are looking forward to working with the existing management team. We will also be introducing key members from the Cyrus-RW Group, including Gary Brewster our northern managing director and my son Mark Watkins will provide sales and marketing support.

“This is a very exciting period. The support from Mazars has been great. They worked extremely hard to make this deal happen and have been very proactive.”

Robert Adamson, restructuring partner at administrators Mazars, said: “We are delighted to complete the sale of Bradford Cylinders to Cyrus-RW Group. This is a perfect fit for Cyrus-RW Group and supports their continued growth strategy. We wish them success as they look to rebuild Bradford Cylinders and announce new jobs, which will have a positive impact on the local economy.”