A job-creating plan for a new manufacturing unit has been given the go-ahead.
Specialist Glass Products Ltd (SGP) – which has provided glass structures for London landmarks The Shard and The Gherkin – expects to create up to 35 jobs to add to its existing 80-strong workforce by building a 40,000sq ft manufacturing building and offices at Calder Vale Road, Milnsbridge.
The site, which was previously occupied by lubricants firm Batoyle Freedom Group, stands alongside SGP’s existing 30,000sq ft premises.
A report to Kirklees Council’s strategic planning committee said the proposal would bring back into use an area of commercial land and improve the firm’s manufacturing capability.
The plan, which was approved by the committee, will involve demolishing existing disused commercial buildings and erecting a new steel frame and brick unit as well as creating a surfaced goods yard, vehicle turning area and up to 47 off-street parking spaces.
SGP has secured a £400,000 grant from Leeds City Region’s Local Enterprise Partnership to cover some of the £5m cost of the investment in new buildings and machinery on the basis that the scheme will safeguard existing jobs and create new employment opportunities.
SGP managing director Andrew Taylor said: “Batoyle Ltd closed down approximately 18 months ago. Since then we have been in prolonged negotiations with both the former owners of Batoyle and subsequently Kirklees.
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“Following the acquisition of their premises and the land, we have now had planning permission approved to demolish the existing buildings and build a 40,000sq ft unit to enable our business to expand and at the same time replace many of the 35 jobs lost at Batoyle. “Over the next few months we will be investing close to £5m in the building along with plant and equipment.”
Mr Taylor said it was hoped that the new manufacturing unit will be operational in 12 months time.
He said the new equipment would enable the firm to operate more efficiently and meet demand from architects and specifiers for ever larger and more complex curved glass products.
The company is also in the process of securing a contract worth in excess of £100,000.
SGP, formed in 2003, creates glass balustrades, staircases and balconies for projects which have included The Shard, The Gherkin, Somerset House and King’s Cross station.
Batoyle Freedom Group, which traced its roots to 1875, ceased trading from the Milnsbridge site shortly after the firm was bought by Fuchs UK, part of German group Fuchs Petrolub SE, in 2014. The Milnsbridge operation ran for a transitional period before operations were transferred to the new owner’s site in Stoke on Trent.
