Liverpool’s oldest trading business RS Clare – a manufacturer of industrial lubricants dating back to 1748 – sees pre-tax profits rise by £1.2m as it hails a ‘significant’ investment at its Liverpool factory. Tony McDonough reports
Specialist industrial lubricants manufacturer RS Clare is reporting an 18% surge in pre-tax profits as it gets set for further expansion thanks to a ‘significant’ investment.
RS Clare, which is Liverpool’s oldest trading business, is a specialist manufacturer of industrial lubricants. More than 70% of its sales are to overseas markets and it exports its products to around 50 countries.
Its lubricants are used in oil and gas, rail, maritime, industrial and thermoplastics. In its latest accounts for the 12 months to December 31, 2024, just published on Companies House, the business says revenues were up 3% to £31.8m.
More than £29m of that total is in the lubricants market with thermoplastics accounting for the remainder. Its UK sales totalled £8.2m, Europe £8.7m, Asia £7.3m and the rest of the world £7.7m. It paid its owner, RS Clare Holdings, £6m in dividends.
Based in Stanhope Street in the Baltic Triangle, where it employs 86 people, RS Clare was founded by Richard Clare in 1748 at the start of the Industrial Revolution as a chemist, druggist and dry-salter.
Lubricants were developed as a result of the first mineral oil being imported into the Mersey River in 1889. This was the year the Meadows family acquired the business and managing director David Meadows is the sixth generation of his family to run the firm.
In January 2023 the firm acquired Swiss based railway lubrication business, Igralub Holding. The deal included subsidiaries in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, and its share of a joint venture in North America.
In 2023 RS Clare said it was making its “biggest ever” investment in its history with the expansion of its grease plant, although it did not reveal the value of this investment.
Writing in the annual report, managing director David Meadows said: ““The major investment in 2023 was a significant expansion of our grease plant in Liverpool which has now been successfully completed in 2024.
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“This project has substantially increased our production capacity and operational efficiencies, ensuring our capabilities to deliver against our strategic business objectives and support future growth.”
He also said: “The financial year has been a period of significant growth and operational efficiency for the company. The key financial metrics indicate a robust performance with notable improvements in turnover, gross profit and operating profit.”