UK INDUSTRY NEWS SEVENOAKS MODULAR INVEST £6.5M IN METAL BOX SITE
Sevenoaks Modular, a Neath-based specialist in timber frame construction, aims to invest £6.5million in acquiring and regenerating a large part of an iconic industrial site in Neath. The old Metal Box factory site will undergo a renovation overhaul and is to be renamed the JCG Buildings. The company has been growing rapidly since it was formed in June 2018 on the back of a growing demand for modular construction solutions in the UK. This move should allow it to go from producing 1,000 homes per year to more than 3,000 per year. Sevenoaks Modular will acquire around half of the Metal Box factory site from Neath Port Talbot Council, which bought the factory in 2019. It will move all its operations to the site once it has been refurbished as will its sister companies Hale Construction and Hale Homes, both part of the Hale Group. Supported by the public and private sectors, the company will make a significant investment to regenerate the site and anticipates all the work will be completed and the site fully operational within 12 months.
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Sevenoaks Modular specialises in windows, doors and external cladding as part of their prefabricated timber frame panels – with a view to offering fully modular volumetric buildings in the future. Sevenoaks Modular has an order book in excess of £10million all with tier one contractors and large property developers. It anticipates further rapid growth, which is partly being driven by government initiatives to build more homes quickly. Charlotte Hale, Director of Sevenoaks Modular, said: “This is about making a significant investment that will benefit the local economy, allow us to keep pace with demand and all while pushing an environmentally friendly agenda, both in terms of the style of construction we champion and in terms of how we will regenerate the site itself. “The entire site will be self-sufficient in terms of the energy it will generate and require – it will be a fantastic case study for the benefits of the circular economy. Our aim is to be sustainable, redefine the buildings and restore the site to its former glory but in an innovative and eco-friendly way. We want it to be a landmark of the town again, which the community can be
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proud of, while also benefiting the local supply chain and keeping jobs and money in the region.” Jonathan Hale, Chairman of Sevenoaks Modular and JG Hale Group, added: “The construction industry is increasingly moving towards more offsite construction methods that save time and money and this site is perfect for our expansion into this way of working across all the businesses. We look forward to creating many more high-quality jobs in the town and returning this site to its former glory.” The Metal Box factory site was occupied for more than 70 years by the Metal Box container factory but has been vacant since 2016. With support from the Welsh Government’s targeted regeneration Investment programme Neath Port Talbot Council bought the site in 2019 with plans to turn it into a business zone to create jobs. The entire site could provide space for up to 500 jobs with interest from a number of locally-based companies. Pictured: Charlotte Hale, Rob Jones (Neath Port Talbot Council), Jonathan Hale www.somodular.co.uk