Industry trio on Sunday Times growth list

UK: Three leading air conditioning and refrigeration manufacturers have made this year’s Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 list of companies with the fastest-growing international sales.

Condensate pump manufacturer Aspen, heat exchanger supplier HRS and copper tube company Lawton all made an entry on this year’s list which ranks Britain’s mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales, measured over their latest two years accounts.

The three air conditioning and refrigeration manufacturers are close together in the list. Sussex-based Aspen Pumps checks in at no 159 with a two-year average sales growth of 41.45%. Just two places behind is Watford-based HRS Heat Exchangers with 41.34% sales growth and copper tube manufacturer Lawton at no 166 with sales growth of 39.15%.

In order to be considered for the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table criteria, companies must be registered in the UK and be independent, unquoted and ultimate holding companies. Total sales must be at least £25m and international sales at least £1m in the latest financial year.

Marking its 10th anniversary this year, the league table has featured more than 1,000 companies since its launch, including star alumni such as Fever-Tree, IHS Markit and Aston Martin.

Aspen has facilities in France, Germany, Australia and America and saw exports hit £41.8m in 2017.

HRS has manufacturing facilities in the UK, Spain and India, supported by sales offices in markets such as America and Australia, and a network of European distributors. Overseas sales hit £20.7m in 2017.

Coventry-based Lawton Tube, which has shipped its copper tubes to every continent, saw exports hit £11m in 2017.