A MANUFACTURING firm is creating a new arm to its operation, in a move that could increase turnover by ten per cent and help the business secure work in new markets.

Cleveland Cascades is already one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of bespoke retractable loading chutes for the handling of dry bulk materials.

From its base in Thornaby, near Stockton, more than 400 of the firm’s cascade systems have already been supplied across the world, which help to significantly reduce the amount of material wasted when it is transferred to the vessel in which it will be carried.

The same technology is now being adapted for use in “transfer points” within the vessel loading systems, where material travelling on conveyor belts towards its final destination is transferred from one belt to another.

By adopting the enclosed cascade system at these points, the amount of material wasted and pollution created during the loading process is reduced.

Cleveland Cascades has been boosted in its development by a £150,000 investment from regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers.

Nick Greenwood, business development manager at Cleveland Cascades, said: “The cascade system was originally developed at Teesport to minimise the amount of corrosive dust being created when potash was being loaded onto ships, and has gone on to be widely adopted in ports and transport hubs around the world.

“There are obviously many more transfer points in a loading system than there are loading chutes, so the commercial opportunities that adapting our technology in this way are clear to see.”