Workers made jobless when Huddersfield’s Remploy factory closed could return under a £3m-plus expansion plan.
Principle Group has embarked on an ambitious project to redevelop the former Remploy building at Tandem Industrial Estate, Waterloo, to provide much-needed assembly and warehouse space plus a state-of-the-art showroom and offices.
The move is part of a growth strategy that has also seen the company build close links with Kirklees Council and Huddersfield University.
Group chairman Richard Butterfield, who co-founded the firm in Huddersfield in 1987, said the Remploy building was the perfect location - being on the same industrial estate as Principle’s head office.
The project, which is under way with support from Kirklees Council, has already led to Principle employing two former Remploy workers and is set to bring more jobs for ex-Remploy staff as redevelopment of the site continues. Thirty workers were made redundant when Remploy closed he site last year.
The new-look premises will also create 35 new desk spaces, half of which will be occupied by primarily new staff as soon as the revamp is completed.
Principle will keep its existing building on Tandem Industrial Estate as the company’s head office and heart of the now international business. The firm was formed in 1987 by Mr Butterfield in an old mill in Scissett - offering a management service for changing signs on commercial buildings. Now it offers a range of consulting, project management, production and implementation services to blue chip clients in a a range of sectors and has offices in the UK, France, Germany, the USA, Brazil, China and India.
The new building will provide assembly and logistics for projects on behalf of international brands including Jaguar Land Rover, Vauxhall, HSBC and Barclays.
The project will also provide new corporate offices for up to 44 extra employees, allowing some staff to move from Principle’s York premises and providing a base for current homeworkers.
“This will be a real flagship for Principle,” said Mr Butterfield. “We are proud of how we have grown as a company and the global brands we now support and this new building will be a true reflection of that.”
Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney, who also worked behind the scenes to support the project, said: “Principle are a local company going global. It’s great that they haven’t forgotten their local roots with their UK headquarters in Huddersfield.”
Prof Bob Cryan, university vice-chancellor, said: “I am delighted that Principle is expanding its activities in Huddersfield. This is a home-grown company that has developed into a global organisation that can base themselves anywhere in the world, but they have chosen to keep their base in their home town because of the talent that exists here.”
Said Mr Butterfield: “We have worked extremely hard to be in a strong position both financially and in terms of our international reach and we are proud of the relationships that we have developed locally that we hope will ultimately be of benefit to the whole region.”
“We have chosen to keep our business in Huddersfield as we have access to a skilled workforce here, which fits with the needs of our business as we are as much manufacturing engineers as we are managers of brands.”
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