A YORK company is on the verge of a massive expansion having won an Olympian contract.

Aggregates firm Lytag Ltd was today due to be visited at its headquarters in Bramley’s Barn, The Managerie, Escrick by John Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority.

Mr Armitt was going to see for himself the processes that are used by Lytag Ltd to bring nearly 2,000 tonnes of lightweight aggregate, which will form the base of the iconic Aquatics Centre in London.

Lytag Ltd is one of more than 90 companies in Yorkshire which have already secured contracts to deliver goods, services and skills to the 2012 London Games.

Mr Armitt’s message: You too could be a Lytag. With about £1 billion of contracts still to be won before the event gets under way, there is still every chance for the region’s businesses to profit.

Lytag’s task is to deliver to main contractor Balfour Beatty its lightweight fly ash aggregate pellets, which it imports from Poland.

Now Andrew Doel, the firm’s managing director, is looking at starting UK-based production units linked to power stations such as Drax Power Station, near Selby, though no specific site has been targeted. A Lytag spokeswoman said: “All we can say is that we are looking to build a plant somewhere in the UK.”

At its height in the 1960s and 1970s, Lytag’s aggregate was produced from four UK units using fly ash waste from coal-fired power stations.

But the UK units closed in 2005 and UK supplies continued with imports from the firm’s partner company in Poland.

Mr Doel is excited about the Olympic contract. He said: “Being involved in such an impressive and prominent project is exciting for Lytag Ltd, and supplying our product for the Games is bringing us some significant business benefits.

“The use of Lytag lightweight aggregate for this prestigious project has a positive impact on our bottom line, and once the games are complete the project will serve as a visible and high-profile demonstration of the capabilities we can offer.”

Lytag Ltd secured its contracts thanks to CompeteFor, the online “business dating” website designed on behalf of England’s Regional Development Agencies to give small and medium-sized businesses the chance to go for Olympic contract opportunities.

So far, more than 100,000 businesses across the UK have registered on CompeteFor to take advantage of the 5,000 contract opportunities on offer.