Business

Conveyor belt maker Smiley Munroe grows sales and profits

Smiley Munroe managing director Vaughan Monroe pictured with Invest NI chief executive Alastair Hamilton
Smiley Munroe managing director Vaughan Monroe pictured with Invest NI chief executive Alastair Hamilton Smiley Munroe managing director Vaughan Monroe pictured with Invest NI chief executive Alastair Hamilton

LISBURN manufacturer Smiley Munroe, which makes heavy-duty conveyor belts and custom-cut rubber parts, has reported a big increase in sales and profits in its last full trading year.

The family-run business, founded in 1979 and which operates from the Knockmore Hill industrial park, increased its turnover in the 2017 calendar year from £16.2 million to £20.4 million, according to its latest set of accounts.

Gross profit margin increased to nearly 41 per cent, with the company's pre-tax profit increasing from £1,759,349 to £2,543,507.

The directors - Vaughan and Mary Munroe - say the satisfactory performance of Smiley Munroe Holdings is largely due to the good relationships the group has forged over many years with customers, suppliers and their bankers.

They say the export sales team and long term strategy has been successfully growing sales of core products and will ensure continuous and steady growth.

"New product development through innovative problem-solving for customers has also strengthened profit margin," the director added.

"The group is committed to investing in management and staff development, new product development and the latest technology to allow us to grow and to continue providing high levels of customer service."

The accounts show that Smiley Munroe's staff numbers during the year lifted from 117 to 140, which in turn pushed up the wages bill from £3.1m to £3.9m.

The directors' pay was just £32,000. However, dividends of £553,398 were also paid to the directors (down from £612,303 in the previous 12 months).

In the last decade the company has grown to become the leading global producer of endless conveyor belts and custom cut parts for the materials processing equipment manufacturing sector, and it currently exports to more than 50 countries.

Among its products are the energy-saving King Rollers, synthetic screen media and conveyor belt cleaning systems, which are used in sectors as diverse as mobile crushing, screening and recycling, mining, quarrying, cement works, fertiliser plants, biomass and waste management.