Global leaders come to Heywood for opening of manufacturing plant

Rochdale Development Agency (RDA) Chief Executive John Hudson; Jeremy Miller, Camfil’s Assistant Project Manager for UK Plants, Business Development Manager for RDA Julie Evans Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Peter Rush and Councillor, Peter Williams, Rochdale Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Planning

Business leaders from America and Sweden came to Heywood on Tuesday (21 May) to celebrate the opening of Camfil Air Pollution Control’s new manufacturing facility.

The Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Peter Rush, officially opened the site watched by invited guests, including representatives of Rochdale Development Agency, who helped the company find the new site on Birch Business Park, and councillors.

Camfil is a leading global manufacturer of dust and fume extraction equipment with 22 manufacturing plants, four research and development sites and over 65 sales offices around the world. They chose the business park because of its location at junction 19 of the M62, giving them easy access to the motorway network for distributing their specialist products throughout the UK and Europe.

Company president Lee Morgan said: “Camfil APC has developed into a global dust extraction company over the past five years, with our biggest growth in the UK and European industrial markets. This strategically located facility allows us to expand our manufacturing capacity and service our European customer base more effectively.”

The 44,000 square feet plant has been operational since April and currently employs 40 people. It includes a four-bay welding area, fabrication area, powder paint line, assembly area and storage space.

Councillor Peter Williams, Rochdale Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Planning, said: “The borough is building a great reputation as an excellent location for manufacturing companies who want to distribute around the UK, Europe and the world. We’ve got Vindon Scientific and Takeuchi Manufacturing on Kingsway in Rochdale, Comfy Quilts and Sitraben Contract Furniture on Middleton’s Stakehill Business Park and Inx International on Transpennine Trading Estate, who are moving to a larger site at Hareshill Business Park in Heywood. That’s just a few of the companies that have chosen to locate themselves here. This latest investment from Camfil really does consolidate the borough’s reputation as a great place to invest and do business.”

Camfil APC makes dust extraction equipment that cleans up manufacturing processes for safer, more productive plant environments. Typical applications include laser and plasma cutting, thermal spray operations, welding, pharmaceutical manufacturing, chemical and food processing, and fiberglass manufacturing.