Work is now well underway on a new purpose built facility on Garner Street, Stoke-on-Trent, for local manufacturer Olympus Engineering thanks to £1.4 million of gap funding from the regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands.
Olympus Engineering is a precision machining company specialising in the production of complex components. Since the company was established by managing director Neil Blood in 2000, Olympus Engineering has enjoyed steady growth, and now competes head to head with other suppliers in Eastern Europe and the Far East.
Employing around 100 highly skilled staff in the region, Olympus moved to new premises in 2004 but following year on year growth of around 40%, it quickly became too small. To cope with medium-term expansion, Olympus leased an adjacent 30,000 sq ft unit on College Road in 2007, while the senior management progressed plans for a bespoke facility in the City region.
Neil Blood said: “It’s a really exciting time for Olympus Engineering and we are delighted that work has finally started on our new facility. At times it looked as though the project would not happen, but we are so glad that we can now stay in Stoke-on-Trent, securing jobs and our future in the region.
“As long as everything goes according to plan, our new manufacturing facility will be weather-tight by Christmas and ready for us to move in our staff and equipment by May 2010.”
Acknowledging the role that Advantage West Midlands has played in making those plans a reality, Neil added: “The Garner Street project would not be going ahead without the help of Advantage West Midlands and its gap funding contribution.”
Tim Davies, development team leader at Advantage West Midlands, explained: “The low value of property in Stoke-on-Trent makes it very difficult to raise the capital for a project like the new Olympus facility, as the construction costs are significantly higher than the building’s value once complete. The Agency’s gap funding scheme offers grants to projects like this which would otherwise not go ahead because of abnormal site or market factors.”
The new Olympus facility will provide one large, flexible manufacturing space. This will allow the company to layout the manufacturing equipment efficiently, without the problems currently faced at the split site on College Road where multiple stories, limited floor loading and a ‘rabbit warren’ of workshops make operations difficult.
Designed to be functional and attractive, the Garner Street development will showcase considerate architectural design coupled with the latest energy saving features to reduce the building’s impact on the environment once operational.
The factory will utilise the latest energy saving lighting systems, while heating and ventilation of the workshop area will be combined to provide a more comfortable environment and cut energy waste; the latest technology composite panels will form the walls and roof of the structure to considerably reduce heat loss and maximise the thermal efficiency of the factory. Particular attention has been paid to creating a temperature controlled environment for both the quality testing areas and precision tool rooms where it is essential that equipment can reliably measure to within a few microns.
Ten years ago, the area around Garner Street was identified as suitable for a variety of applications, so a master planning project was commissioned using Single Regeneration Budget money from Advantage West Midlands to identify potential future uses. Following the master planning exercise, Stoke-on-Trent City Council demolished the existing poor quality terraced housing stock on the site to make the land available for business development projects, such as Olympus Engineering’s new factory, as well as for future housing developments.
Councillor Brian Ward, Stoke-on-Trent City Council cabinet member for regeneration, said:”The building of the new Olympus Engineering factory alongside the A500 is a clear sign of regeneration under way in North Staffordshire. This is an industrial area where old housing has been demolished because of poor conditions but which is now getting a new lease of life with a modern factory for a growing local company. It shows how we are successfully working with our partners to support business and create jobs in Stoke-on-Trent.”