New store shows off massive interior at ceremony
PICTURES of the first Trago Mills store in Wales have captured the massive scale of the building from the inside.
Photos and footage of the impressive 200,000sq ft building have revealed the progress of the site in Merthyr Tydfil as the £40m shopping juggernaut prepares to open its doors in spring 2018.
With the total site equivalent to the size of 61 football pitches, images show the empty building ready to house the 180,000 products sold by the company across 38 departments.
An official ceremony yesterday also saw the completion of the fifth of 17 towers, each 20m high, that will give the store its distinctive appearance.
Attended by chairman Bruce Robertson, the event saw his daughter Ellie use a cherry picker to place a Trago flag at the top of the tower.
Located just off the A470, the new store will include a café, leisure facilities and a petrol station among other planned facilities.
The Swansea Road store will be the firm’s fourth branch, adding to three already in Devon and Cornwall boasting attractions including go karting, a skating zone, trampolines and bouncy castles.
Selling furniture, electrical goods, sport equipment and clothing, the discount retail firm was founded in the 1960s by Mike Robertson, the father of the current chairman.
When completed the store will contain more than 2,500 tonnes of steel and use the equivalent of five full Olympic swimming pools of concrete.
A recruitment drive was launched for the chain’s newest store last month with 350 staff to be employed across a range of roles.
Speaking at the official “topping out” ceremony, Mr Robertson said: “There’s no mistaking it’s Trago now that the towers are going up.
“Along with the rapidly-emerging mansards, they finally give the building its intended form, something uniquely different from so many other more modern and regrettably, often rather bland, box-like idioms.
“And what a view, there’s no doubting the store is in the right place in the heart of Merthyr’s thriving and rejuvenated community.”
Jason Taylor, operations director for Kier Construction, responsible for the build, added: “It is fabulous to see the building really take shape and the completion of the towers really symbolises that Trago has arrived in Merthyr.
“This is a hugely prestigious scheme and the scale of the project indicates the associated economic benefits that the new store will bring. As well as an extensive product range in store, the range of job opportunities created during the build and upon opening is vast.
“We are extremely proud to be delivering the scheme for Trago and for the local community who will benefit from their new retail outlet and unique shopping experience.”