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An award-winning manufacturing company has appointed a new managing director as it aims to take forward its growth.

Blyth sheet metal fabricators Universal Wolf, part of the Tharsus Group, has named former Hitachi Rail plant manager Tim Rutter as its new managing director, saying he would bring “significant expertise in building and develop teams and digital transformation in manufacturing”.

A chartered mechanical engineer who has held in manufacturing leadership roles in rail, defence, offshore and general engineering sectors for more than 15 years, Mr Rutter has previously worked at BAE Systems, the MoD and at Newcastle’s Reece Group.

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Mr Rutter said: “I have spent my career in North East manufacturing, with a particular focus on operational performance and transformation. Throughout all the varied sectors I’ve worked in I’ve seen the power of great teamwork, built out of a really strong foundation of skills.

“I’m excited to be joining the pack at Universal Wolf, whose strategy is strongly built around deep expertise and a distinctive team identity. Complex fabrication plays a central and critical role in most engineered products, and there’s a great opportunity to continue the growth path Universal Wolf has already made such good progress on as we look to serve multiple sectors with these skills.”

Universal Wolf was formerly known as Tharsus Engineering but re-branded in 2017, saying the Shakespeare-inspired new name “reflects the energy and spirit of our business”.

The company won the manufacturing award at the North East Business Awards in 2019 and was named SME of the year at the Make º£½ÇÊÓƵ National Business Awards the year after.