Equipment manufacturer Claydon from the UK, has further expanded its factory in Wickhambrook, West Suffolk, with the completion of a new purpose-built building. This new facility more than doubles production capacity and will create many new jobs.
Supported by a £267,400 Growing Business Fund Grant from the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (NALEP), the project will help the 40 year old company meet a global increase in orders of its Evolution and Hybrid drills, Straw Harrows, TerraStar light cultivators and TerraBlade inter-row hoes.
European producer of direct strip seeding technology, Claydon has seen demand for its products grow ten-fold since 2010. With many markets still at an embryonic stage and its distribution network growing rapidly the company expects sales to grow exponentially during 2023.
In 2015, Claydon was awarded the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership grant to help the business develop in three stages. The first of these was the construction of new offices adjoining the company’s existing production facility to house additional staff to support customers in the UK and overseas markets. Blending in with the existing workshop building and surrounding countryside, the two-storey offices provide 365m2 of accommodation for up to 27 staff on the top level. The ground floor is dedicated to visitors, with two meeting rooms, a dealer training and presentation studio which can accommodate 50 people, together with commercial-grade catering facilities.
A £100,000 investment in solar technologies provides 100kW/h of electrical energy, reducing the use of electricity from the National Grid at the site and minimising the company’s carbon footprint.
The second stage in the company’s development involved the construction of a new assembly building. Measuring 36m x 36m and 8m to the eaves, the new 1296m2 clear-span building has been constructed from steel. The four 3.2-tonne overhead cranes will better utilise the space in the new building and improve operational efficiencies.
With the requirement for staff in the assembly and yard area alone set to triple in 2023, Claydon’s focus now is recruiting additional staff to fill the range of vacancies available at its Wickhambrook factory across all sectors of its business, from design, procurement and sales positions to welding, painting, fabrication, and assembly roles.
