Jobs joy as work begins on big new engineering unit
120 manufacturing and engineering posts on the way with more to come
DIGGERS have moved in to start work on a new engineering unit that is set to create more than 100 jobs and aid 'recovery from the pandemic.'
Construction work on a 120,000sq ft facility for Bio Pure Technologies Ltd at Dunsbury Park in Havant began last week.
It is hoped the new site at the Portsmouth City Councilowned business park will generate millions of pounds of rental income for the authority.
Council leader, Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, said: 'We're not waiting around to start the local recovery from the pandemic.
'This building will be ready for production in 2022 when it will create around 120 new manufacturing and engineering jobs.
'Even more jobs will be created during later phases of the project.'
Kevin Hudson, the council's head of development, added: 'This is the largest development of a dedicated manufacturing facility on the south coast this year.
'It's also the biggest new warehouse facility to be built on the south coast since we built a global headquarters for international clothing brand Fat Face in 2017 - also at Dunsbury Park.' Bio Pure Technologies is a fluid-path component manufacturer for the biotechnology industry and part of global engineering company Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group.
Andrew Mines, managing director of Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group, said: 'We’re immensely proud to be able to reinforce Bio Pure’s position as a major employer in the Portsmouth area and are delighted to be working with Portsmouth City Council on this expansion project.
'Bio Pure is an important member of the WatsonMarlow Fluid Technology Group family and their products are highly valued by customers in the biopharmaceutical sector, a sector which has been at the forefront of news during the global pandemic.
'We are excited to be able to expand to this larger facility to support our growing business.'
The new facility will be built by BAM Construction.
Dunsbury Park, which opened in 2017, is also home to a DPD logistics plant and the headquarters of Volkswagen van specialist Breeze Motor Group.
The 45-acre business park is next to junction 3 of the A3.