Stove and fireplace maker Stovax & Gazco’s £20m factory is on track to open at Exeter Skypark in summer 2022.
The company is creating a purpose-built 205,000sq ft manufacturing unit at the site, which is at the heart of the Exeter and East Devon Growth Point initiative.
Stovax & Gazco, the UK’s largest stove manufacturer, has signed a 15-year lease at Skypark, and has partnered with St Modwen, a leading logistics developer and manager, the Skypark Development Partnership, and brought in Glencar as a main contractor. The site is a hive of activity with the steel structure now clearly visible from the roadside.
The manufacturer has been operating for 40 years and exports to more than 25 countries with a range of woodburning, gas, and electric heating appliances.
The Stovax Heating Group is a subsidiary of the US$5bn turnover NIBE Group, and Stovax & Gazco already employs about 300 staff at nine sites at Exeter’s Sowton Industrial Estate. It will move them to the new building, set for completion in June 2022.
Alistair Compton, managing director at Stovax & Gazco, said: “This is more than just a new building for us. We’ve outgrown our current premises scattered across Sowton, and this
move crucially allows us a premium, state-of-the-art, sustainable space to facilitate the expansion of our manufacturing and business operations under one roof.”
During the next 20 years, Skypark is predicted to create up to 6,500 new jobs with a significant positive impact on the economy.
Caroline Carr, Stovax & Gazco HR director, said the new facilities “allow us to keep our operation in the heart of Exeter and to preserve employment for our longstanding, talented team of staff, whose hard work, expertise and innovative thinking are at the very core of the Stovax & Gazco brand ethos.”
Paul Swan, group Finance director at Stovax & Gazco, said: “Along with all the benefits to the local economy and logistical improvements for the business, we’re currently in discussions surrounding green travel and transport provisions at the facility. This is a huge step forwards, and we are excited by the potential here that strongly aligns with our ongoing drive for sustainability.”
The new building has been designed to the BREEAM “excellent” standard, putting the proposed facility in the top 10% of UK non-domestic buildings in terms of sustainability performance. BREEAM rated developments are more sustainable environments that enhance the wellbeing of the people who work in them, whilst helping to protect natural resources.
Ian Kingscott, group technical director at Stovax & Gazco, said: “The new facility will allow us to continue to invest in our world-leading research and development functions, with high focus given to renewable energy heating sources such as electric and hydrogen, all of which are part of our NIBE parent company’s ongoing vision and commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility.”
Attending the site to view the progress, Cllr Rufus Gilbert said: “What a pleasure it was to join Stovax at this monumental day celebrating another success story, not only for Stovax &
Gazco but Devon and Skypark. I was taken aback by the sheer scale of this enormous building rising out of the ground. It has been a great privilege for Devon County Council to have played such a part in making it happen.”
James Irwin-Singer, senior development manager at St. Modwen Logistics, said: “We have worked closely with Stovax & Gazco on the core building specification all the way through to their fit-out requirements. It’s fantastic to be delivering a state-of-the-art building that meets the high sustainability criteria that Stovax & Gazco, St. Modwen and Skypark all aspire to – particularly the connection into a nearby district heating system and delivering BREEAM ‘excellent’ standards, which are fairly rare – it’s great to be able to incorporate these into the building design.
“The completed project will provide Stovax & Gazco a long-standing sustainable new home allowing them to provide further jobs to Exeter and the surrounding area.”
Richard Roberts, senior project manager for Glencar Construction, said: “It’s been exciting to work with Stovax & Gazco – we’re delighted to be able to help to create a great space to produce great products.”
