£4m investment made into 220,000 sq ft facility
A Cannock manufacturer is investing £4m into a new 222,000 sq ft facility, with 57 new jobs created so far.
Total Construction Supplies, which manufactures prefabricated reinforcement steel has seen turnover double after securing major new contracts with HS2 and a host of highways, housing and nuclear infrastructure projects.
With six production sites in the West Midlands, Ilkeston and France, the newest one in Cannock will be biggest yet.
The firm which was founded in 1998 by Craig Gibbons and Matthew Hague, has fitted the Walkmill Lane site with cutting and bending machinery, welding equipment and overhead gantry cranes stretching the length of the production area.
A further 60 positions will be made available in 2023, with the company hoping to overcome labour market issues through a partnership with HMP Oakwood.
Matthew Hague, CEO of Total Construction Supplies said: “There’s a lot of talk about the UK heading for recession, but we’re not seeing this, especially with the products we supply being so important for completing infrastructure projects all over the UK.
“The £4m investment was necessary to give us a dedicated facility that could manufacture our largest reinforcement steel products and cages and the good news is we’re already 50% full.
“With what we’ve got in the pipeline with HS2, nuclear and highway infrastructure projects, the remaining capacity will soon be taken, and we’ll then have to consider whether we need an eighth premises or not.”
Gibbons added: “With 60 new jobs on the horizon and tales of a saturated labour market, we also decided to innovate the way we look for new staff and have invested in a new partnership with a local prison.
“Three individuals are already working with us on Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) so they can gain new skills and have immediate employment when they are free to re-join society. This got us thinking and we went one stage further by investing in a welding workshop within the prison.”
