A division of one of the longest-established manufacturing businesses in Warwick is helping to slay the dragon of recession in the town by converting the site of the former Benford dumper truck factory into an enterprise zone for small to medium sized companies.
Kigass Ltd is working with agents ehB Commercial to re-develop the £3 million St George’s Business Park, in Lower Cape, Warwick, on part of the site of the former Benford/Terex plant which relocated to Coventry over ten years ago. The site has been redundant and vacant ever since.
Kigass Ltd is the property development division of family-owned Kigass group of companies including Kigass Aero Components in Montague Road which employs 80 people who are working with blue chip organisations including Rolls Royce and F1 on bespoke and world-beating engineering solutions.
Managing director Joanne Smith is the great grand-daughter of the firm’s founder Charlie Wardman and a main board director for Kigass Aero Components, said: “Benfords was a traditional engineering company that employed a lot of people and the plan is to re-introduce that enterprise in the town – we want to see this site rise like a Phoenix from the ashes of what has gone before.”
ehB director Simon Hain said all 11 units on the 4.4 acre site – ranging in size from 1,750 sq. ft. to 7,500 sq. ft. – would be for sale, rather than lease and that they would be ideal for companies involved in design, manufacturing, engineering or warehousing. “This is good news for the area, not only for new jobs, but sign that the local economy is recovering. We already have serious interest in a number of the units off plan, it’s a great start.”
Construction is expected to get underway in early July and be completed by Spring 2015.
