A TOTAL of 28 jobs have been lost at a Bradford metalworks company which had been placed in administration.

Sigma Technologies Limited, based at Kingsmark Freeway, Oakenshaw, entered administration on August 1 and closed six days later after a short subsequent period of trading.

The business was a subsidiary of Altec Engineering, based in Bowburn, County Durham, which is involved in the design and manufacture of automation equipment and in the machining of high precision components for the aerospace, defence, oil and gas and other leading industrial markets.

Keith Marshall and Steve Ross, of RSM Restructuring Advisory, were appointed joint administrators of Altec Engineering Ltd on June 29.

A spokesman for RSM said Sigma’s closure was due to excess capacity in a state-of-the-art production facility geared up to service a lower-than-expected demand for precision engineering components destined for the oil and gas markets.

Following the appointment of joint administrators, Altec’s engineering business and assets were sold to a management buyout (MBO) team.

At the same time, another Altec group company, Ronco Engineering, was sold to the same team in a solvent share transaction. The combined deal saved more than 120 jobs in the North-East of England.

While the performance of Altec Engineering has stabilised, the administration resulted from significant creditor stress following losses last year and a debt structure incompatible with the level of turnover and profitability.

The sale of both businesses allows a new smaller group of companies to obtain further investment as they seek to grow.

But Sigma Technologies was not part of the deal and the business has now stopped trading.

Andrew Walker, at Irwin Mitchell, worked alongside RSM and the administrators as the legal advisors.

Keith Marshall, joint administrator and the RSM partner, said: “This was a challenging transaction to deliver within a tight timescale, but the deal will safeguard two regional businesses, and importantly, 120 jobs in the North-East.”