Olympus Global – the European automotive component distributor – has announced that it is soon to break ground on its new multi-million pound distribution facility in the North-East of England.
When construction starts at the 16,000 sq ft Newton Aycliffe site on Monday 6th October, all the ambitious growth plans, significant £2.7 million investment by the Midlands-HQ’d company, and the industrial architectural designs, civil engineering and project management expertise by Building Design Northern (BDN), will come together.
This announcement coincides with this year’s North-East Automotive Alliance (NEAA) event held today (25th September), which sees organisations from across the whole industry supply chain attend the annual expo held in Sunderland.
Olympus Global is a UK and European-wide distributor of high-quality engineered components and is now building its second UK warehouse distribution facility (the first in the North-East) to directly serve industrial, automotive and wider supply chain companies in the Northern and Scottish regions.
They are a £38 billion turnover business, supplying engineering fasteners, precision-turned and machined components, castings, aluminium extrusions and forgings to major organisations within the industrial and automotive sectors.
The Newton Aycliffe development will become the company’s fifth site including its head office and distribution centre in the Midlands and further facilities in Spain and Hungary.
This bespoke build will see prime brownfield land at Aycliffe Business Park in County Durham be fully transformed into a fit-for-purpose scheme with dedicated storage space for modern offices.
The development has been designed, delivered and project managed collectively by architectural and engineering firm, BDN, and the site will facilitate existing international customers including Unipres, Thorn Lighting and Gestamp Tallent (located opposite).
It is anticipated to ship more than £7 million worth of parts and engineering components in the first year of operations alone, with the new facility making a significant contribution to the local economy by creating up to 10 new jobs.
Ryan Doyle, Director at Building Design Northern (BDN) which is working on behalf of major UK-wide industrial and commercial clients including Olympus Global, commented: “Being able to announce the start of construction onsite is fantastic and it’ll be great to start seeing our designs coming out of the ground.
“We have worked closely with Olympus Global right from the start across all requirements to support this major scheme, and our knowledge, industry insight and technical expertise across different architectural and engineering disciplines has proved critical given our client is also based outside the region. The main contractor is ready to go so getting ready to break ground on the site is good news for Olympus Global, the industry and the wider business community too.”
Hall Construction has been appointed as principal contractor, by BDN, to deliver the development which also includes bespoke ‘green’ features to align with Olympus Global’s commitment to carbon reduction and sustainability.
Managing Director at Olympus Global, Keith Rice, has said: “We are delighted to be breaking ground at Newton Aycliffe as it is a key strategic site for the company, and one which marks a new chapter in our 50+ year history. We work very closely with the region’s automotive supply chain, so it is also very timely to announce the start of construction date at NEAA’s expo event.
“The North East and County Durham is a prime location providing direct access to main transport routes and proximity to the industry’s big players and cluster locations.
“Our clients are fast-paced organisations that require the highest level of turnaround, dispatch and efficiency, so we’re delighted to be starting construction and making our mark here in the region.”
