Notts manufacturer to invest £7m in new production facility

Icon's new production facility

A £7m investment is set to turn a Victorian factory into a modern production facility for Icon Aerospace Technology.

Together with its landlord Strawsons, Retford-based Icon, which was established in 1871 and has created 100 jobs since the beginning of 2016, is investing the sum as it works through an order book which is worth £150m over the next few years, a figure based on data released from Teal Group.

The investment enables Icon to reduce its total footprint by near 50% to a three-acre site – whilst its sales output doubles. The firm says the new factory will it improve flow of materials, achieve throughput efficiencies and productivity and reduce its carbon footprint through a more energy efficient production environment.

Tim Pryce, chief executive of Icon Aerospace Technology, said: “The strength of our products and service is in the strength of our people and when the Icon team considered how best they could further meet the demands of our customers we knew the answer was in our employees. By creating a working environment where our employees could thrive, our customers would feel the benefit.

“The town of Retford and the surrounding communities have been our home for 145 years and this level of investment ensures we can continue to provide a great place to work and for people to build careers, across all functions, from engineering and accounting to marketing and manufacturing. As well as the 100 new jobs created by Icon in the last 18 months, the Icon team supports many local businesses on a daily basis, from shops, to garages and hotels.”

Simon Greaves, leader of Bassetlaw Council said: “We are delighted that Icon Aerospace has committed its future to Retford, having provided employment for local people for over 145 years. Icon is a significant employer and this investment keeps high quality manufacturing jobs in Retford. This development is also part of a wider regeneration scheme that will bring further investment and opportunities to our town.”

The next step for Icon is to complete the construction of a new facility for its offices, before the end of 2017, which will house all business functions.

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