Delta Fire, based at Broadland Business Park in Norwich (Image: Supplied) The third-generation family business is the UK’s leading manufacturer of firefighting nozzles; supplying equipment to most of the country’s fire and rescue services and more than 100 other countries worldwide.

Delta Fire is in the process of building a £1m, 975sqm extension to its base at Broadland Business Park in Norwich to house new state-of-the-art, robotic machinery. This uses AI technology to manufacture parts overnight.

Delta Fire's £1m, 975sqm extension to its Broadland Business Park base (Image: Supplied) The automated machines, each costing up to £500,000, are an example of ‘lights out’ manufacturing – the “holy grail of engineering” according to Delta Fire’s Jordon King.

It will enable the firm to keep its machines running through the night, with minimal or no human intervention.

This is just one of the ways Delta Fire aims to future-proof the business.

One of the existing Computer Numerical Control (CNC) robots at work at Delta Fire (Image: Denise Bradley)

Delta Fire employs 40 people, with plans to take on more staff in the next year.

But rising employment costs caused by increasing rates of national insurance have added around £50,000 to its annual wage bill.

“We’re trying to be at the forefront of active fire suppression, competing against global giants in the US,” said Mr King, head of operations and business development and the grandson of owner and founder Ian Gardner.

Delta Fire is the UK’s leading manufacturer of firefighting nozzles, supplying most UK fire and rescue services and more than 100 countries worldwide (Image: Supplied) “We want to improve our manufacturing base and invest in the latest technology, robotics and engineering automation so we can compete with much larger global players.

“But costs are going up across the board, with raw materials, energy and staff getting more expensive.

“The government said it was a budget for growth last October, but we can’t really see where that growth is coming from.

“The grant landscape also seems to be less generous than it was, and costs have gone up considerably for businesses."

Jordon King, Delta........

© Norwich Evening News