Life safety firm invests £5.5m in Medway site

A leading manufacturer of fire detection equipment has splashed out £5.5million on new premises in Medway. Hochiki Europe has bought the facility in Hopewell Drive, Chatham, as part of an ongoing expansion.

This is following demand for the company’s equipment and systems, and the new building will be in addition to the firm’s nearby European Headquarters and Research and Development Centre in Grosvenor Road, at Gillingham Business Park. The move will allow the company space to expand its existing operations in warehousing, production and distribution as well as provide more room for its sales and administrative teams.

The new building is more than 24,000 square feet and sits on a site of 1.92 acres. The purchase is seen as a significant investment in the future infrastructure of the company. It will also ensure future demand is met and order volume is delivered efficiently and

effectively to customers in the UK, across Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. Hochiki employs more than 2,000 employees around the world who work across six manufacturing plants, 38 sales offices and 14 subsidiaries. The new Medway facility will bring new employment opportunities to the area, adding to the 180 staff already employed at the head office. Graham Lowe, managing director at Hochiki Europe, said: “Despite the challenging

few years we have faced as a global community, I am proud of the efforts our teams have made to ensure our continued growth and I would like to thank each team member. “Over the last six months we have been able to expand our teams to strengthen the expertise we offer our customers and now, with this new building, we can continue to deliver a world class service in fire safety to existing loyal customers and ever-growing pool of new customers.”

From left, Roland Bessey, operations director, Yuji Hayashi, finance director, with Graham Lowe, managing director, at the new Hochiki facility