A half a million pound extension to a Fort William based engineering company is taking shape with the steelwork now erected.
NEWCO, located at the town’s Glen Nevis Business Park is expanding its premises by 50 per cent in the £539,000 project which will increase productivity and efficiency, and help meet growing demand for its services.
The expansion will allow for two new overhead cranes to be installed making handling materials and projects more efficient, as well as improving safety and cutting carbon by reducing forklift use.
The company secured a contribution from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) towards building and plant and equipment costs for the project.
The expansion project will support five jobs, including an apprentice, and bring about an estimated £800,000 increase in annual turnover within three years.
Neil Worsdall, manager of NEWCo said:
“Getting the framework up is a real milestone and it’s really exciting.
“The whole team here is delighted and are just looking forward to being able to get in and use the new space.
“Now that the steel frame is up, the next part is to get the roof sheets and cladding done and then of course the flooring.
“We hope to be in the building by June which is when we can then knock through to the existing NEWCo premises.
“The whole development is going to streamline everything but one of the key advantages is that it will allow us to take on more structural steel work.
“Up until now, carrying out this type of work has been quite labour intensive.
“The new extension and the investment of the cranes, means that this work can be handled by one person allowing the rest of the team to concentrate on other projects.
“It will give us a much more user friendly workshop.”
Neil added:
“We have already been able to recruit and over the past few months we have had two new apprentices start with us, a new welder and admin assistant and also we have a young lad who is here on trial for a CNC apprenticeship.”
Alan James owner of NEWCo and its parent company AJ Engineering located in Forres said:
“We are very pleased that the works to expand our base at Fort William are progressing.
“NEWCo was bought in 2015 and since that time the workload there has been increasing month on month, and we are now at a point where we need to look at what we have in place for our hardworking team and make it even more efficient for them and therefore our growing customer base.
“The building currently houses offices and a workshop, but we need more space to meet the increased demand and to install the new overhead cranes which will make the fabrication processes more efficient.
“We are very pleased that Highlands and Islands Enterprise has seen the value in supporting this expansion and thank them for their support.”
