New factory unit marks ‘important step’ for fire-hit firm

The fire at Taylor Engineering & Plastics on 28 April 2011

Rochdale-based Taylor Engineering and Plastics (TEP) is set to open a new £600,000 factory unit this month – to replace a unit that was destroyed by a fire last April.

The 12,500 sq ft building, constructed by Russells Construction, took five months to build and means the company can reinstate full capacity at its site on Moss Bridge Road, Kingsway.

Following the blaze, TEP was able to redeploy staff and contracts across its other four manufacturing locations in Rochdale.

Scott Taylor, Manufacturing Director, said: “It is hugely satisfying to see the new facility complete, marking an important step in putting the impact of the fire behind us.

“It was vital that the build was finished as quickly as possible so we could return our focus to the ongoing development of the company, and we’re very pleased with the efforts of Russells to complete the scheme within an aggressive time frame.

“We have worked hard since April to ensure the fire did not impact upon our customers or our staff and were lucky to have other sites nearby to which we could redeploy resource.

“We’re pleased we were able to ensure that no one lost their job or had to be laid off, and that we completed all customer orders as planned. With the new facility currently being fitted out with new plant, we’re looking forward to business as usual.”

Russells Construction was responsible for the demolition of the fire damaged building and rebuild of the new unit, a steel frame construction. Two adjoining buildings, which were partially damaged by heat and smoke, have also been refurbished and will house further production capacity. Thomasons Engineers were responsible for the design and management of the project.

The new unit features a state-of-the-art automated paint spraying facility.

Gareth Russell, construction director of Russells Construction, added: “The construction itself was fairly straightforward but we were aware of how important it was for the programme to stay on track to meet the client’s own deadline.

“Our project manager has worked closely with the whole supply chain to ensure the scheme was completed on schedule, despite challenging weather conditions, to enable this timely handover.”