14.10.08 Royal visit confirms Falmouth company’s success
22.08.08 Convergence investment for Falmouth pump manufacturer
Start date 1.3.2008
Watson Marlow Pumps Ltd (Watson Marlow Ltd)
In 2008 Falmouth pump manufacturer Watson-Marlow announced a £7.3 million expansion having secured £1 million of investment from the Convergence Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and the South West Regional Development Agency.
Watson Marlow
What?
Watson-Marlow Bredel Ltd is an innovative engineering company specialising in the design, manufacture and distribution of products for the pump industry, in particular the medical industry. They one of the largest employers in Falmouth, producing a high-value-added product using skilled labour and state of the art technology and materials.
The company, which has annual sales of £25 million, has built a new silicone tubing plant with the investment to support its core pump business and a growing global market for food and beverage and biopharm tubing.
The new plant will more than treble tube production, cementing the company's position as a leading producer of silicone tubing, much of it destined for the bio-pharmaceutical market across Europe and North America.
It includes a manufacturing ISO 14644-1 class 7 'cleanroom', with 25 air changes an hour and temperature and humidity controls to create the optimum conditions for silicone tubing extrusion; two floors of offices and 550m of pallet racking. It has been designed as a low carbon building with an 'Excellent' environmental rating.
Tubing at Watson Marlow
"Our expansion will include new jobs for the area, and we will continue to invest in research and development, in order to maintain our position as Europe's number one positive displacement pump brand." Christopher Gadsden, Managing Director, Watson Marlow Ltd
Who?
Watson-Marlow, which is part of the Cheltenham-based Spirax-Sarco Engineering Group, employs 174 staff including 34 graduates on its 11-acre site on Bickland Water Road, Falmouth and the expansion will create or safeguard 32 jobs.
How much?
The project is being supported by £769,000 of ERDF Convergence investment and £256,000 from the South West RDA, with the balance coming from the company’s own funds.
Inside Watson Marlow
"Convergence investment will drive a more competitive and knowledge-based economy. It will encourage research, development and business innovation to create more sustainable higher value business growth, higher paid jobs and a skilled workforce." Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Convergence Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
“We are delighted with our new building. The BREEAM influence on the design has helped to ensure that it has very high levels of insulation, makes best use of natural daylight and has rainwater harvesting for both the new building and our existing plant. This will help to ensure that the cost of running the building – and its impact on the environment – will be minimised.”Christopher Gadsden, Managing Director, Watson Marlow Ltd
Related links
20.01.10 Hi Tech pump company ahead of targets
21.10.09 First industrial BREEAM Excellence rating in Cornwall
14.10.08 Duke of York briefed on marine energy
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