Time To ACT has created a Thermal Processing division by combining Diffusion Alloys with Metal Treatment & Engineering, bringing two specialist engineering businesses under one operating structure following the acquisition of MTE in May. The move gives the group a broader range of coating, heat-treatment and precision-processing capabilities while separating those activities more clearly from its earlier-stage GreenSpur technology business.
Diffusion Alloys provides high-temperature diffusion coatings and thermal-processing services for components used in hydrogen, sustainable fuels, nuclear, petrochemical and other demanding industrial applications. MTE adds heat treatment, induction hardening, gear cutting, grinding and metallurgical processing across sectors including automotive, energy, marine and heavy engineering.
The combined division gives Time To ACT a wider position in the component-processing chain. Diffusion coatings protect parts exposed to high temperatures and aggressive environments, while heat treatment and induction hardening alter material properties to improve wear resistance, strength and durability. Gear cutting, grinding and metallurgical inspection extend the offering further into component manufacture and finishing.
Management intends to develop the division around two types of revenue. Short-cycle work consists largely of repeat processing for established customers, typically involving higher volumes of smaller components. Project work, concentrated mainly within Diffusion Alloys, covers bespoke orders involving larger parts, specialist coating programmes and technology sales.
The distinction matters because the two streams behave differently. Repeat processing can provide relatively predictable utilisation and cash flow, while larger projects can move between reporting periods as customer programmes, engineering approvals or equipment schedules change. Individual project orders can be worth several hundred thousand pounds and, in some cases, more than £1 million.
Time To ACT says the short-cycle operation is currently running at an annualised sales rate of between £5 million and £6 million. At around the middle of that range, management believes recurring activity is sufficient to cover the core group’s cash overheads.
During June, July and August, the core group recorded £1.55 million of sales and was profitable on the company’s cash-basis measure. The figures are based on internal management information rather than audited results, but they provide an early indication of how the enlarged engineering operation is performing after the MTE acquisition.
The project side has been quieter, although the company expects bookings for the Thermal Processing division during September to reach approximately £1.1 million to £1.2 million. That forecast includes what management describes as the first large Diffusion Alloys project order for some time.
For the year ending March 2028, Time To ACT has set the division a target of £8 million in sales and a 40% gross profit margin. Core group cash overhead is targeted at £2.2 million, with management aiming for cash pre-tax profit of about £1 million before GreenSpur development expenditure.
Those targets depend partly on the mix of work between Diffusion Alloys and MTE because the two businesses carry different margins, equipment requirements and project profiles. A larger proportion of recurring processing can improve visibility, while high-value coating projects provide additional revenue when they convert.
Operational integration is still under way. Time To ACT is harmonising cost accounting across the two businesses to improve consistency in gross-profit and overhead reporting, while MTE received a further £68,000 of capital-equipment investment in August. Management expects that expenditure to pay back in less than a year.
Available group liquidity, including undrawn credit facilities, stood at £570,000 on 15 September. That leaves relatively little room for undisciplined expansion and places greater emphasis on equipment spending that can increase utilisation or remove production constraints quickly.
The industrial case for combining the businesses extends beyond financial reporting. Customers using specialist coatings, heat treatment, hardening, grinding and gear manufacture often work with several subcontract processors, particularly where components require more than one treatment before final assembly. Bringing complementary processes into one group creates scope to retain more of that work and reduce the number of external hand-offs.
It does not remove the normal constraints of subcontract engineering. Component sizes, batch volumes and process routes vary considerably, while customer qualification can make it slow to transfer work between suppliers. Specialist processing also depends heavily on maintaining equipment capability, metallurgical control and inspection standards across a wide mix of jobs.
GreenSpur remains separate from the new division. The generator-technology business had accumulated development expenditure of about £5.6 million by the end of the 2026 financial year and remains focused on engineering development and commercialisation. Time To ACT is therefore operating an established processing division alongside a technology business still requiring development capital.
The new structure gives the group a clearer industrial base from which to fund that work. MTE adds repeat processing and a wider customer base, while Diffusion Alloys contributes specialist coatings and larger project potential. The immediate test will be whether September’s anticipated orders convert into sustained workloads and whether the combined operation can build towards the £8 million FY28 sales target without stretching its comparatively limited liquidity.
