CPUK helps fuel oil group’s £3m expansion plan
CONSTRUCTION Partnership UK has won a £3m contract to create a new research and development centre in Warrington for leading lubricant industry manufacturer Rock Oil.
The new facility is the first phase of a major redevelopment of the company’s Warrington operation and has been fuelled by increased global demand for the brand.
The 10,000sq ft building will house one of the finest independent laboratories in the country and staff from across the group’s technical, sales, marketing and senior management departments.
Containing more than £1m worth of advanced technical equipment, once open the R&D facility will be at the cutting edge of the lubricants industry.
The three-storey development, which includes new office space, as well as the lab, has been designed by Liverpool-based architects Falconer Chester Hall. The building phase, carried out by CPUK Group, will take 34 weeks to complete.
CPUK Group is one of the North West’s major independent building and civil engineering companies. Founded in March 2000, the business operates from purpose-built headquarters at White Moss Business Park in Skelmersdale.
Its growing order book now stands at more than £60m and more than 80% of contracts are undertaken on a repeat business basis with blue chip clients.
Its previous projects include delivering a 21,000sq ft new building for Wincham-based engineering specialist Cygnet Group, giving the company the height and space needed to develop the next generation of its machines.
That new machinery assembly, testing and warehousing facility was built by CPUK on the same site as Cygnet Group’s current premises at New Cheshire Business Park and was delivered on time and to budget.
CPUK Group managing director Steve Burke said: “We will be using all our experience and know-how in the sector to create this cutting-edge new development for Rock Oil. Once completed, it will help Rock Oil remain at the forefront of the lubricants industry.
“The development represents a major investment by a long-established North West business and highlights how manufacturing, which is such an important part of the economy, is continuing to move forward and invest in the region.
“We’re finding that companies and developers in all sectors are determined to push forward with their plans and that is boosting our already healthy order book.
“From social housing to retail and office development, they are getting on with the job and the pipeline of work that attitude is creating is showing no signs of slowing down.”
Rock Oil is one of the few remaining blenders of lubricants still manufacturing in the UK and has worked with multiple British and World champions across various motorsport disciplines.
Founded in Warrington almost 90 years ago, the family firm is currently the official lubricant partner of the British Superbike Series, which is the biggest domestic motorcycle race series in the world. It employs around 100 people on the site and exports to more than 70 countries.
