The UK's leading regeneration specialist, St. Modwen, has
announced its Centre 38 scheme in Barton has been selected as the
European hub for a global manufacturing company, which has
purchased a 35,278 sq ft light industrial unit at the Staffordshire
business park for £1.75 million.
International Piping Products (IPP Group) is the latest tenant
to relocate to St. Modwen's Centre 38 development, with the
125-acre business park on the A38 already home to occupiers
including Argos, Bombardier, Intier and Pirelli. IPP Group was
founded to meet the piping requirements of the gas, petrochemical
and oil industries; and it has a reputation for specialist piping
supplies within short fast-track lead times.
Following a move which has brought together two teams previously
based in Staffordshire and Derby, IPP Group now has a 50-strong
workforce based at new high quality premises at Centre 38. The
business park is in a prime position fronting the A38, midway
between Lichfield and Burton on Trent. Jared Ayres, group managing
director of IPP, explains why a first class location is key to the
ongoing growth of the business.
Jared said: "IPP has built its reputation on being able to
manufacture approved quality products within short delivery
timescales, and when we were looking to relocate from our previous
premises it was incredibly important to select a European base that
was well connected to the national and international communications
network. Centre 38 met with our very specific requirements,
and bringing both the Staffordshire and Derby operations under one
roof enables us to improve synergy and communications across the
business and to ultimately improve customer efficiency.
"IPP has a presence as far afield as the USA and Singapore, and
the European facility plays a part in the overall growth strategy
of the parent company. Investing in a high specification
manufacturing and distribution unit ensures we can continue to
provide the very best service to our clients and can continue to
benefit from being one of the few fitting manufacturers to achieve
the sought-after NORSOK M650 approval. Our move also ensures
we have a quality working environment which befits the specialist
nature of our business and our highly trained employees."
Centre 38 is the latest phase of St. Modwen's Barton Business
Park. Having been completed in 2009, Centre 38 has
established a wide appeal in the regional commercial property
marketplace and just one unit of 30,701 sq ft is now remaining,
suitable for distribution-warehouse space or manufacturing.
Available to let or for purchase, the unit has a highly prominent
location fronting onto the A38 with four dock level doors and a
large secure yard.
Jonathan Green, development surveyor for St. Modwen, said: "Over
previous months, Centre 38 has continued to grow in popularity and
has become widely known as thriving Staffordshire business park
location. St. Modwen has had a consistent level of enquiries for
these well-located, large scale units and we have defied the
challenges of the current economic climate in matching all but one
of the units to occupiers. This recent performance is not only
testament to the quality offering at Centre 38, it also
demonstrates how well Staffordshire's business community continues
to fare into 2010."
Elsewhere in Staffordshire, just two units of around 8,000 sq ft
are remaining at St. Modwen's Stretton Business Park. Situated to
the north of Burton on Trent, two miles from the town centre and
just half a mile from the A38/A50 corridor, Stretton Business Park
is a 4.2 acre scheme comprising a range of new industrial/
warehouse units available to let.