Work forging ahead to build £126m car parts factory in Wolverhampton
These photos show how multi-million pound work at the Four Ashes site near Wolverhampton is steaming ahead before its planned opening next year.
A new 50,000 sq metre manufacturing unit is being built for Spanish automotive parts supplier Gestamp, which said it will become more efficient, competitive and customer-focused factory for clients based nearby.
They include BMW, Honda, JLR, Nissan-Renault and Toyota. It will employ 800 staff at the £56.3 million base, moving employees from Cannock, and then spending £70 million kitting it out.
Plans are for production of car chassis and body parts to start at the site before the end of 2017 and the project has been supported by Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Staffordshire County Council and Cannock Chase District Council.
Part of Gestamp's base in Cannock may be retained to accommodate future training and development requirements.
Spanish engineering group Gestamp bought the former ThyssenKrupp Tallent plant, formerly Tallent Automotive and Albion Pressed Metal, in 2011.
Major work is being completed by civil engineering company, O'Brien Contractors, which last month bagged a second contract to build at the site from the principal contractor Readie Construction.
At the time, O'Brien Contractors' Peter O'Brien, said: "We are very pleased to have been awarded another subcontract by Readie Construction.
"We have an excellent track record of delivering civil engineering services across the Midlands and as with all our schemes, our team will approach the project in a flexible manner, offering cost and efficiency savings to ensure we deliver the best results for our client."
Staffordshire County Council gave the go-ahead for the next phase of the works at the Bericote Four Ashes site in November.
It will now move onto junction improvements on the A449, which are being funded through Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Highways England.
Other projects O'Brien Contractors has completed include the regeneration of Longbridge in Birmingham, the Beacon Barracks SFA housing scheme in Stafford, Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital's Accident and Emergency unit and the University of Birmingham's recent expansion.
When Gestamp revealed its plans, its UK country manager, Ian Middleton, said: "We have been working on this project for a long time. The UK is one of Gestamp top five global markets since the beginning of our operations here in 2011.
"Our company is committed to helping our customers in key aspects such as quality, safety and lightweight innovations, therefore Gestamp wants its facilities to utilise the most modern stamping technologies available to fulfil its objectives."
