Huge new roof shows Katmex means business at its Stockton factory
FEATURE Bird ’ s eye view – aerial shot of the new Katmex roof .
SKY ’ S THE
WORDS : DAVE ROBSON PICTURES : TOM BANKS
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Huge new roof shows Katmex means business at its Stockton factory
Manufacturing and engineering firm Katmex has been putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to committing to its workforce – and Teesside .
Since 1999 , Katmex has supplied high-quality steel components to the heavy earthmoving and construction equipment industry from its factories in Seaham and Stockton .
But at the vast Stockton 25,000-sq m complex , an increasingly dilapidated roof was becoming a serious concern .
Rather than keep patching it up , a decision was made to replace the whole thing – and that wouldn ’ t come cheap .
Replacing the roof and cladding , as well as resurfacing and realigning the car park at its Bowron Street premises , would come in at a cool £ 1.4m .
But , says MD Lee Cranston , it ’ s money well spent – and shows how committed Katmex is to its stakeholders , and its future in Stockton .
He told Tees Business : “ It was getting to a point where if we didn ’ t do something , it would have been taken out of our hands .
“ The building itself has been here for 80 years or so – it was an old Head Wrightson building – and ever since Dave ( Mitchell ) bought the business in 2010 , it had been on his radar to do something about the roof .
Lighter - clear roof panels mean a brighter factory interior .
“ It was leaking and deteriorating due to its age and aesthetically , to people arriving on site , it didn ’ t look good .
“ Ultimately , we are looking to grow the business into other markets so we want to give a good impression to people arriving here . If people see a dilapidated building they could understandably think ‘ what ’ s the product like coming out of it ?’.
“ It wasn ’ t great for employee morale and if we ’ re investing in new machines , as we are doing , we didn ’ t want them or the staff getting soaked , so we decided to bite the bullet and get it done .
“ We ’ d patched it up for a while , spending money on other things that we prioritised ahead of it , but we couldn ’ t keep putting it off .”
A method of working was devised that meant production could continue , rather than closing while the work was being carried out .
46 | Tees Business