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WESTERN BUILDING SYSTEMS INSTALLS MOBI ONE Harvey Group acquires Solmatix as part of 5 year COMBINED TIMBER FRAME ASSEMBLY STATION AS growth in UK and Ireland. PART OFplan £1.6M INVESTMENT M&EIrish services ANI Northern construction firm has Newtownabbey-based injected £1.6m into its M&E services facilities company, production Harvey Group, hasto acquired and workforce drive Northern Ireland renewable GB and ROI market energy specialists, Solmatix growth in the education, healthcare housing Renewables inand a move the sectors. companies say will transform
the renewable energy sector Western BuildingIreland Systemsand is one in Northern actof the and Ireland’s leading build as UK a springboard for further solutions providers, specialising in expansion into the multithese sectors. pound and has Ireland Amillion new 30,000 sq ftUK factory been renewable energy built which includes themarkets. installation of TheOne acquisition, for an a Mobi Combined Timber Frame Assembly Station. latestto timber undisclosed sum, The will bring 110 innovation offers new systems for its the number of people employed design, cutting automation directly by theworkshop, Harvey Group in manufacturing of timber panels. Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The complete system will accurately With a turnover of £30 million position frame components, nail andframe, over affix 80 staff, the the Harvey claddingGroup options has over 30 years’ experience and rout out the window and door in the design, installation and maintenance of building services within every conceivable kind of building type throughout NI, GB and RoI, including Pharmaceutical/ Cleanrooms, Laboratories, Education, Government and Healthcare andon NorahWork has. Richard started the refurbishment Anne Bell founded Solmatix and development of then Renewables in 2008, and since
openings – all at Western’s NI thisrenewable latest company acquires energy specialists headquarters. investment
the hasofgrown to achieve Thecompany installation the Mobi One a turnover of £6 million, with 30 staff is complemented by the addition operating Nutt’s Corner of a new from CNCitsmachine for the manufacture of doors and screens. premises. The of the this deal, latestSolmatix fully As addition a result of automated to will continuetechnology to operate isasdesigned an minimise waste and increase factory autonomous and independent productivity. company Harvey Group As well aswithin investing in production Brian Harvey, managing director capabilities, Western has also installed ofa Timber Harvey Frame Group,design said there wasusing system, athe perfect between the two latestfittechnology to improve material scheduling, manufacturing organisations. drawings andbeen new planning automated “We have to machinery. grow our renewables involvement The improvements allow the for some time, eitherwill organically company to further continue its or through the acquisition of an expansion into the GB/ROI markets established player.itsHaving worked and strengthen outputs - £12m with Solmatix on already worth of newRenewables contracts have abeen number of contracts, serviced throughwe’d the new facility. Declanbeen McCloskey, Operations always impressed with Director, Westernrigour Building their engineering andSystems, said: “The business is thriving and professionalism. In fact, there seemed to be a natural synergy between our two companies in terms of what we do and how we do it. I approached Richard Bell about a year ago to float the idea of our companies coming together, but only for adigital ifsystem there was good connectivity. fit. After careful Wired Certification consideration we bothenables agreed agents and this tenants find accurate that wouldtoindeed be mutually
is going to propel us into the next stage of growth. “We’re looking to capitalise on the current build appetite. We have a proven Celebrating the acquisition (from left) Norah-Anne Bell, Richard Bell, Brian Harvey, Gareth track Booth (Financial Controller, Harvey Group). record continually improving as“We’re great news for Solmatix, its how we in the beneficial. From my perspective, work and suppliers what we and offer.staff. The fact we education and healthcare sectors. customers, having Solmatix as part of Harvey do“Ineverything – windows, doors and many respects, it’s a case Group gives us a level of expertise interiors – as well as the structural “Housing, also, is presenting a huge of ‘business as usual’. However, in that would have taken us years to frame – and the fact we do it all opportunity at the minute and our real terms, partpoint of this acquire otherwise. offsite is abeing big plus for larger us and rapid-build solutions are proving organisation will give us access to in the “Harvey Group and Solmatix something that makes us unique popular due to both time and cost enhanced technical eyes of clients. ” skills, financial share similar values, by which I mean savings. resources and purchasing power. our commitment to professionalism, Ultimately I believe this will lead our desire to deliver our services to to greater growth and investment the very highest standards, and the within our operations, as well as importance we place on treating our more jobs and job security. It’s a customers, our suppliers and our staff win-win relationship that’s good with courtesy and consideration.” for our whole organisation, as Chichester House will be and potential tenants. Richard Bell, the founder the first flagship for “Chichester House of willNorthern be an well as the economy managing director project of Solmatix Causeway Management’s office fit for the future, with Ireland.space “ RenewablesAsset described the acquisition
CHICHESTER HOUSE TO BE BEST CONNECTED GRADE A OFFICES IN BELFAST Chichester House in Belfast, which will be the first Grade A office project in the city to have guaranteed internet connectivity.
and detailed information about a building’s digital infrastructure and gives landlords an independent means of improving and promoting their buildings’ capabilities in a transparent way. Damian Mitchell, property director at Causeway Asset production of Randox’s Management, said: pioneering medical diagnostic products and will “Internet speed and reliability one of the also includeis associated administrative three most functions. Theimportant works are the first factorsoffor tenants phase a major capital expenditure searching for office project by Randox to develop the space, along with cost former Massereene Army Barracks and location. In fact, into ‘Randox Science for many businesses,Park’ – a futuristic R&D and manufacturing digital connectivity is as important as facility. The award-winning, mains electricity and international biotechnology firm, running water. But unveiled its plans for up an innovative to now there has been hub on the 43 acre site earlier this very little information year. available to tenants in Welcoming the announcement, Northern Ireland about Damien Hughes, Director of TAL the quality of internet connectivity in office Limited commented: “We are spaces.” to have been awarded delighted
innovative ‘Future-Fit Space’ concept, which puts connectivity and technological building advancements at the forefront of building design. The site is being developed on-spec but the concept is already proving attractive to a number of
guaranteed connectivity. We are excited that it will be the first building in Belfast to provide this assurance to potential tenants and believe that rating buildings using this transparent system will set a new standard in Grade A offices in Belfast,” said Damian Mitchell.
Lisburn firm TAL awarded the first major construction contract at Randox Science Park Chichester House, which is in a prime central location fronting Chichester Street, will bring 46,000 sq ft of top quality office and 5,000 sq ft of modern retail space to the market following a full redevelopment of the building’s existing six storeys, an extension to the rear and the addition of two new floors. The project represents an overall WItH a reputation for and will investment of £8 million excellence constructing create 150 in jobs in the build high phase, with completion expected in late quality projects, tAL Limited 2018. has been awarded a significant contract (£3.1m) by global Chichester House will also be the medical diagnostics company first building in Belfast to be rated Randox. by WiredScore, an innovative, This initial contract is for the internationally recognised construction a new facility for commercialofreal estate rating
this contract with Randox, one of Northern Ireland’s most dynamic and exciting businesses on a local and global level. Through the quality of our work and the dedication and professionalism of our team TAL has steadily grown over the last 34 years and this contract award reinforces the strength of our expertise in the healthcare sector.” The project will be delivered to BIM level 2 in partnership with the design team Ostick and Williams Architects, Rainey & Best, Doran Consulting, Delap & Waller Consulting Engineers and Charles Hutchison Consulting. Dr Peter FitzGerald, Managing
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Director at Randox commented: “The development of Randox Science Park is core to our plans to create innovative diagnostics, to improve manufacturing efficiency to export high-value healthcare capabilities to world markets. This state-of-the-art premises will become a centre of cutting-edge research, development and diagnostic manufacture, covering conditions such as cancer, stroke and heart disease. We will also provide a significant boost to the local economy through new job creation. We very much look forward to working with TAL on this initial contract to deliver the high quality infrastructure we require.”
The right job can transform a person’s life and the right person can transform an organisation, we’re experts at matching both in construction management. Find out more at hays.co.uk/ni
20/08/2014 16:45