Fire testing expert investing £24m in Warrington base, creating 50 jobs
A specialist in fire testing, inspection and certification (TIC) has unveiled plans to create the biggest TIC centre in the UK at Warrington’s Birchwood Park.
Warringtonfire is to invest £24m in developing the facility, which will create more than 50 jobs with its opening, scheduled for 2025.
The scheme is in response to the firm’s continued growth, due to increasing regulatory requirements, the introduction of additional standards, the rising importance of third-party certification and product assurance as well as the need for shorter testing lead times.
The new facility will represent an almost 80% increase in size over the firm’s existing facility, at Holmesfield Road in Warrington, and is expected to triple Warringtonfire’s testing capacity in the medium term.
It will boast eight state-of-the-art fire resistance testing furnaces and will also provide larger preparation areas to improve workflow as well as higher quality and more accessible customer reception and viewing areas.
In line with the commitment to be more sustainable, the new facility will implement extensive measures to reduce energy use, maintain air quality and potential environmental impacts, including built-in recycling systems, energy-efficient fans, plus smoke and odour capture and treatment.
Jason Dodds, Warringtonfire VP, said: “Our new fire testing facility in Warrington is a major investment in the region and a statement of our ambition for the business.
“We are excited to be expanding into Birchwood Park and undertake our essential product testing in this state-of-the-art business park. The new facility will significantly improve Warringtonfire’s testing offering for our customers, providing a faster and more wider ranging service, as well as expanded access to technical excellence delivered by the foremost experts in the fields of fire testing and certification.
“It will solidify our position as the go-to partner for fire testing and related services and broaden our ability to serve customers across the value chain. Using best in class building design and new technology, we will also be able to greatly improve our environmental footprint, which is incredibly important to us as a company and is becoming increasingly important for our customers.”
Warringtonfire’s existing facility will continue to operate at full capacity while the new facility is under construction.
Following the transfer of fire resistance testing to Birchwood Park, part of the existing facility will be used to create a center of excellence for reaction to fire testing, which are smaller scale tests including spread of flame and heat release.
Construction of the new 101,000 sq ft facility has begun. The designers were TP Bennett Architects and Hoare Lea and construction is being managed by Arcadis with Tilbury Douglas as the principal contractor carrying out the works.
