With a forward order book now worth £115m, 2022 looks bright for Liverpool city region supercar brake disc maker Surface Transforms in what is set to be a ‘transformational’ year. Tony McDonough reports

Supercar carbon fibre disc maker Surface Transforms (ST) says its revenues for the year to December 31, 2021, grew 20% to £2.4m.

However, with a forward order book now worth £115m revenues are set to soar in the coming years. Chairman David Bundred said 2022 was set to be a “transformational” year. At the end of December it secured a £45m contract.

On Friday, the Knowsley-based business, which is listed on the stock exchange’s Alternative Investment Market, issues a pre-close trading and operations update for 2021 ahead of the publication of its full-year results in April 2022.

ST also revealed in December that it had drawn down a previously agreed £1m loan from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. This will be used to expand it production facilities and create new jobs. The business has already increased its workforce by 60% in 2021 to 80 people.

In the £45m deal, brake discs will be fitted as standard to both axles on three models produced buy an unnamed carmaker. It is currently supplying brake discs for the Aston Martin Valkyrie, a limited edition model that will cost buyers almost £3m. Other customers have included Porsche, Ferrari and Nissan.

In Friday’s update, ST said cash reserves at December 31 stood at £13m. However, this includes a £3.1m irrevocable letter of credit in the name of a furnace manufacturer which will be progressively drawn down, by the supplier, as furnace manufacturing milestones are met.

ST says it is on track to hit its production targets for 2022. The company has addressed a specific production issue on the particularly complex furnace. Several “satisfactory” production batches having now been produced in late December and January.

Following this success, operational focus has moved on. Its production ramp up has involved ‘downstream’ manufacturing stress testing with the objective of identifying and resolving any further capacity constraints and engineering challenges.

This production ramp up is now in line with management targets and manufacturing engineering activity will continue through the first and second quarters of 2022. The Company also intends to invite shareholders to see the new equipment on-site on a capital markets day after the full-year results have been published.

Mt Bundred said: “This year will be transformational for the company as we move into profitability. We are delighted with the progress made in January, and by the success the team had in its response to the problematic furnace.

“Given our order position, the priority is now production, and the board is confident in the Company’s ability to deliver on the excellent opportunity ahead.”