A Sheffield based stainless steel product manufacturer is using the internet to break into a new market sector.

Stainless UK, which has been making products for the construction industry for more than 20 years, has started supplying heat and corrosion resistant steels and products for furnaces and kilns and for the oil and gas industry. And company bosses have put their faith in web developers Arkom to bring in the sales.

Stainless UK’s general manager Tony Rice said: “We don’t have fleets of salesmen and we don’t spend much on advertising, the website is the key piece of marketing.

“When our website was initially rebuilt by Arkom in 2007 it made a tremendous difference. Now that they have revamped it to take into account the new product range we are confident we will have a similar response.

“We know the power of the internet and we know people use it all the time. And the system they have built for us also gives us a database of contacts which we can use for e-marketing campaigns. It is a truly integrated approach.”

Sheffield-based Arkom specialise in providing sales and marketing web solutions for manufacturers, with search engine optimisation, apps and customer relationship management systems. Their other clients include Cutting & Wear and B Braun of Sheffield; Mel Chemicals of Manchester, and Alpha 3, which has its headquarters in Scunthorpe.

Alan Easter, director at Arkom, said: “A website acts as your shop window to the world, so you need to get it right."

“We have manufacturing clients who have broken into markets in places like China and Brazil because of their website. It really is vital to sort out the design and especially the SEO.”

Tony Rice said Stainless UK had seen its turnover increase by more than 50 per cent since they started working with Arkom, and they were now eyeing up the export market.

“We have built up a good reputation in the construction sector, but as we all know that area has suffered recently. So we have made the decision to take that expertise and move into the oil and gas and furnace sector alongside construction,” said Tony.

“At the moment the bulk of our sales are in the UK, but we are looking to export much more and the way the website is designed will help with that.”

Stainless UK employs 22 people at its base in Attercliffe. Its stainless steel products for the construction industry include anchors, tie bars and its unique Grip-Bar, which is a high strength stainless steel rolled threaded bar ideal for masonry and concrete fixing.

The new products, made from heat resistant and corrosion resistant stainless steel, will be suitable for use in oil and gas facilities, off shore and in heat retaining vessels and refractories.