Siemens Hires Local Business for Hull Project

Siemens has awarded a contract to Clugston, a family-owned business based in Humber, to build a 12,300m² service and logistics facility at Hull’s Alexandra Dock, which will support a wind turbine blade factory already under construction at the site.

The building will house facilities for the service and maintenance of wind turbines as well as the storage of parts and equipment required in pre-assembly and operational phases. It will also be the logistics hub for Siemens’ UK onshore and offshore service business.

Clugston, based in Scunthorpe, said it would draw on its extensive local workforce and supply chain to retain and create jobs within the region.

Shaun Cray, Siemens’ General Manager, Real Estate and Construction, for the Hull project, said: “Clugston supplied the most competitive bid, in terms of programme and price, as well as proposing an innovative engineering solution to deliver enhanced value to Siemens, in order to secure this contract against significant competition from other high-quality regional and national construction companies.

“We are very pleased to be able to award a major contract to a company with a long history in the Humber region and, once again, deliver on our commitment to support local procurement wherever possible.”

Construction of the facility will begin in November and is due to be completed in early autumn 2016.

Steve Radcliffe, Managing Director of Clugston Construction, said: “As a local business whose involvement in the Humber area stretches back almost 80 years, we are excited to be playing a part in building this facility which will play such an important role in the growth of the offshore wind industry and establishing the region as the centre of renewable energy in the UK.

“In delivering this scheme we will draw upon our local construction skills and supply chain which will create further economic benefits for the region.

“As members of UK Build, the trade body formed to represent main contractors and specialist sub-contractors, we support the drive to promote the economic advantages of using local construction skills and resources. This is based on evidence that every £1 spent on construction output generates £2.84 of total economic activity, with much of that retained locally due to the structure of the construction industry.

“To achieve this, we will draw on existing relationships, established over many years, with regional suppliers and host a ‘meet the buyer’ event to create additional local opportunities.”

Clugston employs more than 500 people, with its head office and support operations in Scunthorpe, significant employment in Yorkshire and the North East, and operations across the UK. The company has been listed in the London Stock Exchange’s “1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain” and the “Sunday Times Top Track 250” and “Yorkshire’s Fastest 50” growth rankings. This year the company also claimed the Construction News Health and Safety Initiative Award.

Image: Siemens