New jobs as engineer expands

October 9, 2018

A thriving engineering company is creating 50 new jobs through a £4million investment in Hereford’s Skylon Park.

KGD Industrial Services is developing an extra new purpose-built facility on a five-acre site at Hereford Enterprise Zone as part of a long-term expansion drive which it says will see its turnover rise to £20m over the next five years.
The company, which was founded by Ken Davies in 1982 and employs 120 people, is developing a new research and development centre at Skylon, an assembly, testing, shot-blasting and painting plant and new offices.
Mr Davies said the development – part of which is already complete – would allow the firm to undertake bigger projects for its global customer base and win contracts with new clients.
KGD, which specialises in the design and manufacture of packaged process plant, equipment and pressure vessels for the oil & gas, petrochemical, power generation and food industries, will also retain its existing site at Rotherwas in Hereford.
Mr Davies said: “We have expanded consistently since 1982 but that has meant we are being asked to build bigger and bigger packages and we need more space. Skylon Park has given us a blank canvas to build exactly what we need, including workspace with 12 metres of headroom and overhead crane capacity of 120 tonnes.
“Some of our existing customers have already given us more – and bigger work – as a result of the development because they can see that we are now equipped to deal with much heavier systems.
“Even while the building work was taking place, Westfalia placed new contracts with us to work on centrifugal equipment for their pharmaceutical division, so we have developed one building of the new site to accommodate that work which requires extra cleanliness.
“The new development means we will be able to expand over the next five years, taking on an extra 50 people and getting our annual turnover up to the £20million mark.”
The 18-month project had been made considerably easier by the streamlined planning process in place at the enterprise zone, Mr Davies said.
“Working with the enterprise zone has been like a breath of fresh air. They could not have been more supportive and have been able to give us answers quickly to any problems at every stage of the work. That has enabled us to get to this point in half the time it might otherwise have taken.”
Mr Davies said the move would also allow the firm to take advantage of Skylon Park’s excellent transport infrastructure, meaning its 140ft-long low loader lorries could move out of the new plant much more efficiently than previously, avoiding the low railway bridge on Holme Lacy Road.
KGD’s customer base includes Heineken, Special Metals Wiggin and Lucozade Ribena Suntory in this country and global industrial companies Linde, Dresser-Rand, GEA Westfalia Separator, Siemens and Ansaldo.

Back to top arrow

The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership has now ceased trading and transferred all its functions to Shropshire Council working with Telford & Wrekin Council and Herefordshire Council, in line with the UK Government's plans for devolution.

The Marches LEP was established in 2011 and hands over an impressive legacy from its 13-year life. In that time the LEP invested over £196m in projects across the Marches, securing in excess of £100m of match funding and supported more than 66,000 business interactions.

The schemes supported have made tangible differences to local communities, increasing skills, creating jobs and improving the physical appearance of many towns.

We would like to thank all the LEP Board Members who have given their time freely over the life of the LEP, as well as all the staff who worked for the LEP over the years. We also want to thank our delivery partners, local education providers and local, regional and national stakeholders who helped us achieve so much.

The Marches Growth Hub will continue to support businesses and will be managed by Shropshire Council, supported by Telford and Wrekin and Herefordshire Councils. Each of the three Local Authorities will also continue to provide direct business support locally. Details of this support will be available through the Marches Growth Hub website and from the Local Authorities directly. Website: www.marchesgrowthhub.co.uk | email: enquiries@marchesgrowthhub.co.uk.

The Marches Careers Hub will continue to be delivered and will be managed by Shropshire Council, supported by Telford & Wrekin and Herefordshire Councils. Website: www.marchescareershub.co.uk | email: info@marchescareershub.co.uk

For any queries about Getting Building Fund (GBF), Local Growth Fund (LGF) and Marches Investment Fund (MIF) projects supported by the Marches LEP please contact: gary.spence@shropshire.gov.uk

For any finance queries please contact: michelle.hodgkiss@shropshire.gov.uk

The solvent liquidation of the Marches LEP is being managed by the Evelyn Partners Limited. For any matter related to this please contact: Camilla.Mulholland@evelyn.com

Skip to content