Waters breaks ground in Wilmlsow

CHANCELLOR George Osborne planted a Copper Beech tree at a groundbreaking ceremony for Waters Corporation’s new £60m headquarters in Wilmslow.

Osborne, who is MP for the Tatton constituency in which Waters’ new facility will be built, praised the firm for its investment in the area, which he described as “a vote of confidence in the Cheshire economy and the British economy”.
US-based Waters Corporation gained planning approval to build the new £60m facility 12 months ago.

Its facility will make mass spectrometry (MS) equipment on the 37-acre Stamford Lodge site at Altrincham Road – three miles south of Manchester Airport. The new HQ will also allow Waters to consolidate four existing sites in south Manchester and Altrincham into one building employing around 500 staff. New state-of-the-art laboratories will be added and its manufacturing capacity will be increased.

Brian Smith, vice-president of MS business operations at Waters Corporation, said: “I am very excited that we now have the ability to move our high technology business forward and provide a world-class centre for innovation in mass spectrometry.

“The new Waters MS headquarters will be designed to accelerate the rate of innovation with increased access for the world’s scientific thought-leaders.

“Science is such a major contributor to the history of Manchester and we are honoured to be writing a new chapter in its rich heritage with our custom built headquarters in Wilmslow.”

Project director Terry Shortt said: “”We remain committed to the sustainability of the project and protecting the local flora and fauna. The building itself will be constructed to the BREEAM ‘very good’ standard. We have also recently completed a purpose-built home for the local bat population and will refurbish the sunken garden from the original lodge.”

VINCI Construction has been chosen as contractor for the new two-storey building. Its work will also include the creation of new access roads, car parking, services and landscaping.

VINCI regional director Mark Thomas said the scheme would be “a flagship project for our operations in the North West this year”.

“We hope that our involvement will assist the Waters Corporation in achieving and exceeding their business expectations.”