Hampshire firms work together for growth plans

A Hampshire-based technology company is kicking off 2013 with a larger premises thanks to a helping hand from Spaceway.

Verotec, which makes metal enclosure products for the electronics industry, needed to increase the size of its manufacturing centre and head office in Chandler’s Ford in order to cater for its growing customer base and burgeoning order books.

However, it did not want to move unnecessarily and called upon Romsey-based Spaceway to help it expand its premises without the need for costly extensions or moves.

Spaceway designed a solution that would hit the brief and, in just one day, installed a mezzanine floor which doubled up Verotec’s storage space.

Director of Spaceway, Dominic O’Brien, said: “Verotec already had a great space in Chandler’s Ford and, having only moved into the premises 18 months ago, it would have been silly and costly to move.

“We discovered that there was a sizable amount of wasted space in the roof void of its current building. Our solution was simple – installing a mezzanine floor to turn that wasted space into an area that could be used for storage.”

Mel Young, operations director at Verotec, added: “We have steadily taken UK market share from our competitors, which has led to an increase in the number of enclosures we produce. In order to cater for this increase, and as we prepare to launch a series of new products in 2013, there was a need to expand our premises.

“Spaceway’s team worked incredibly fast and the fact they installed the floor in one day meant we could quickly get back to our job of producing quality products for our customers.”

Recent research shows Verotec is not the only company of its type doing well in the face of a tough economic climate. The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recently showed UK manufacturing activity hit a 15-month high in December 2012.