Advanced engineering park attracts two major firms

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Apr 1, 2005

Two companies have announced they are to begin construction of new premises at South Yorkshire's Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in the UK - securing GBP 12 million of investment.

Two companies have announced they are to begin construction of new premises at South Yorkshire's Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP)in the UK - securing GBP 12 million of investment and creating 78 new jobs in the process.

Castings Technology International (CTI), based in Sheffield, and Cambridge-based TWI have both confirmed their moves to the AMP at Waverley, in Rotherham - the hub for the region's advanced engineering and metals cluster of companies said Yorkshire Forward.

TWI is to create a new GBP 2.5 million research and development base on a two acre site that will create 30 jobs.

The building, which should be complete by September, will house some of the most advanced joining equipment in the world, including the globe's biggest friction stir welding machine, produced in Halifax, a 7kW fibre laser and a Direct Metal Deposition unit, added the organisation.

CTI will create a new headquarters and research centre on a five acre site, with work due to start in May and to be completed in December.

The GBP 9.5m project will create 48 new jobs when fully developed and house CTI's design and rapid prototyping, as well as titanium melting and casting and machining facilities.

The AMP is a joint venture between Yorkshire Forward and the landowner UK Coal to provide what has been described as a world-class base for companies in advanced manufacturing, an area of industry with the potential for high growth in the future.

The news comes just weeks after Yorkshire Forward announced plans to build a GBP 9.7 million flagship Innovation and Technology Centre to act as a creative centre for the AMP.

Susan Johnson, Yorkshire Forward's executive director of business development, said: "We have known for a while that these two market-leading firms were committed to the AMP, but that doesn't take away the satisfaction of seeing the buildings take shape.

They were complex transactions, but we wanted to make sure everything was right for these companies to enable them to make the most of their investment.

With the announcement of the Innovation and Technology Centre, and now these two further commitments to the Waverley site, this is a landmark month for the AMP.

Yorkshire Forward has pledged to create a world-class region - the AMP is proving that we can deliver." Dr Mike Ashton, CTI's chief executive said: "This investment underpins our plans for significant growth in the region.

It will allow us to focus on technology used in the aerospace, defence, high performance automotive and medical devices industries, where we have already had great success, while continuing to support our more traditional markets from our existing facilities." TWI chief executive, Dr Bob John, said the future was bright for the company in Yorkshire.

"Our new facility will hold cutting edge equipment for advanced manufacture and will give us a firm base from which to expand in to composites, other advanced metals and materials and the critical field of reliability of fabrication and manufacture." Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council cabinet member for Economic and Development Services, Councillor Gerald Smith, said: "This is excellent news and boosts our drive to make Rotherham a centre for the high-tech industries of the future.

CTI and TWI's choice of the AMP confirms its attractiveness to high-tech companies.

It's good news not just for Rotherham but for the whole region.".