Hampshire-based engineering firm, Formaplex, which supplies tooling and lightweight components to the premium automotive, F1 and motorsport industries, has expanded with the opening of a new 120,000 sq ft facility.
The company, which has been shortlisted in the Large Manufacturing Company of the Year category at the upcoming Insider Made in the South East Awards, said Voyager Park will increase production space by 80% to support the businessâ future growth.
Altogether, the firmâs total footprint now spans 270,000 sq ft across four sites in Horndean, Portsmouth, Cosham and Havant.
The new site will accommodate a total of 15 injection mould presses to support the rising demands of lightweight moulded components, along with in-house finishing, assembly and metrology departments. It has created around 100 new job opportunities.
Mike Bryant, Formaplex Chief Executive, commented: “We have experienced steady growth over the last five years, resulting in our current sites working at full capacity. This growth has been positively impacted by confidence in the automotive sector and increased international demand for UK premium car brands.
“We are currently producing 600 injection mould tools and moulding approximately three million thermoplastic components per year, predominantly for the automotive industry. Our new premises will ensure we have the additional capacity to continue to provide our services and world class products to our blue-chip customer base.”
Formaplex was established in July 2001 and was acquired in a management buyout supported by private equity company DunedIn in 2007.
Earlier in the year, Formaplex unveiled a new 11,000 sq metre factory on its Cosham site, near Portsmouth.
The new technical centre âVoyager Parkâ is set to increase production space by 80% to support future growth of the business.
The new £6 million facility will accommodate a total of 15 injection moulding machines, for producing lightweight-moulded components, together with in-house finishing, assembly and metrology departments.
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