New Scarborough location central to Mellor ‘market repositioning’ in 2022, with job opportunities and focus on STEM subjects for local young people
Mellor has unveiled plans for its new Scarborough-based production division as part of its ambition to reposition the business from 2022. The new Mellor (Scarborough) facility will support the company’s existing manufacturing base in Rochdale while boosting capacity and adding ‘significant’ technological capability.
With planning permission underway, the manufacturer said that Mellor (Scarborough) will form an integral element of the wider relocation of fellow Woodall Nicholson group company Promech Technologies and its move to a new 54,000 sq.ft. purpose-built manufacturing, R&D and office development. Completion of the new facility in Scarborough is expected in the third quarter of 2022.
Fifty employees will relocate from Promech’s existing location nearby, with the expectation of creating of between 30 and 50 further new employment opportunities. Partnerships with local schools and colleges to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning among young people are intended to create a centre of excellence for future talent within the business.
Mellor said its new Scarborough site will boast state-of-the-art equipment to facilitate design, engineering, chassis conversions and homologation, and the firm is to upgrade its design software to the latest 3Dexperience platform from global technology provider Dassault Systèmes. The manufacturer said that the upgrade will boost its design capability and enable it to further develop its ‘size and cost-appropriate’ product offering.
“This is one of the most important investments that Mellor has ever made,” said Mellor’s Bus Division Managing Director, Mark Clissett, “one which underlines our commitment to UK customers and one which reflects our longer-term ambitions for repositioning the business from 2022. The combination of the new 3Dexperience software and our highly skilled workforce presents a formidable proposition with limitless possibilities to develop exciting new products and to enhance considerably our chassis conversion capability.”
With the shift to zero-emissions gathering momentum, the new site will also accommodate Promech Technologies which the manufacturer said will play an increasingly influential role in Mellor’s future model introductions. John Randerson, Chief Technology Officer at Promech Technologies, added: “Promech is already instrumental in the development of technologies for all Woodall Nicholson vehicle brands. The new Scarborough facilities will create an even greater symbiosis between Mellor as a UK brand and Promech as its technology provider, particularly regarding electric and hydrogen fuel cell drivetrains, and the integration of the two technologies.”
Mark added: “We’re excited at the possibilities this new site will offer not only to our customers, but to the local area, with employment opportunities and ongoing engagement with local schools and colleges to develop STEM learning as a basis for a career in the burgeoning zero-emissions bus industry.”
