An abrasives products manufacturer has officially opened the doors to its new multi-million pound head office and distribution centre.
Stafford-based Saint-Gobain Abrasives UK has relocated from the old Universal Grinding Wheel site in Doxey, to Unicorn House – named in memory of Unicorn Abrasives, once a major employer in the town – based at Redhill Business Park, just off J14 of the M6.
The new site includes the company’s new Centre of Excellence, testing and training facilities, customer service department and the new distribution centre.
Adrian Hough, country manager for Saint-Gobain Abrasives UK, said: “It’s been a long journey. We started this nine years ago, when we first heard about the plans for the bypass.
“It is fantastic for the staff here. There’s a lot of history at the old site and a lot of memories. We have named it Unicorn House in fond memory of Unicorn Abrasives, which everyone knows around Stafford.”
Adrian added: “We hosted a celebration event to thank our employees and key stakeholders for all their hard work and support in making this relocation such a huge success.
“We also wanted to showcase our new customer training facilities, for which we received a great deal of positive feedback.
“Our brand new Centre of Excellence and training provision allows us to conduct hands-on product training in a workshop environment, demonstrating best practices and helping to improve awareness on how to use abrasives safely.
“We are more than aware of the environmental impact of such a big move and we are fully committed to our sustainability goals. During our move, we ensured zero items went to landfill, through a combination of recycling materials and donating items where possible to charity.
“The location of Unicorn House was chosen with improved efficiency in mind, with one of the key benefits being simplified transport routes, which enables commercial traffic to be moved away from Stafford town centre to ease congestion and pollution.”
In the UK and Ireland, Saint-Gobain Abrasives boasts a team of around 150 employees across three sites – and Unicorn House, in Stafford is at the heart of the UK business.
The manufacturing plant in Eccleshall, located on Raleigh Hall Industrial Estate, produces bonded abrasive products mainly serving the aerospace market, while the Staverton site near Cheltenham manufactures super abrasive products for applications where precision and performance are key – such as the medical, aerospace and automotive sectors.
Staffordshire County Council’s economic growth leader, Mark Winnington, has welcomed the move.
He said: “Saint-Gobain Abrasives is a long-established Staffordshire company which is providing employment for the local community at its Stafford and Eccleshall sites.
“We’re pleased it has relocated to the County Council-developed Redhill Business Park, which is now fully occupied. It will provide an ideal location for its new development, which will enable the company to build on its successes as it plans future growth.
“Redhill offers excellent connectivity, being located just off the A34 and close to junction 14 of the M6. Saint-Gobain Abrasives is neighboured by other innovative businesses on the site, together helping support the county’s continued economic growth.”
