WHAT’S NEW?
WHAT I LEARNT THIS MONTH Liz Kentish
PORTAKBIN PROVIDE A TOTALLY WICKED
SOLUTION Portakabin Group’s latest project constructed using its Yorkon off- site solutions is for Totally Wicked – the first purpose-designed fluid production and technical facility for electronic cigarettes to be built in the UK.
The scheme has increased the company’s capacity to over 10 million bottles of premium quality e-liquid every year for the UK, USA and worldwide markets.
The facility was constructed off site, to shorten the programme time and reduce disruption to the local community and to the company’s existing operations on the Totally Wicked site in Blackburn.
Finished in anthracite grey with striking chilli red stripes to reflect Totally Wicked’s strong corporate image, the scheme accommodates a new production facility on the ground floor, complete with test room, fluid mixing area, bottling plant and a highly insulated cold room. New offices are located on the upper floor.
The use of a Yorkon off-site solution from Portakabin reduced the build time for the facility to just four months to give Totally Wicked the benefit of earlier occupation. This also allowed
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production capacity to be increased and facilitated the company’s expansion at an earlier stage.
Commenting on the project, Stuart Mercer, Operations Director at Totally Wicked, said: “We needed this building to help us meet the growing demand for our products, both in the UK and for export markets. It is a cutting edge facility for e-liquid production.”
“We chose an off-site solution because the brownfield site we wanted to develop is very constrained and it was critical to have as little interruption to our operations and to neighbouring properties as possible. The benefits of off-site construction far exceeded those of site-based construction – we could have much less plant and equipment on site, the programme was much shorter, and disruption was minimised.”
Around 30 people now work from the new building to meet the growing demand for Totally Wicked’s e-liquid products.
The building also has a high performance pre-installed Yorkon concrete floor at ground floor level to provide a robust, lasting and clean finish for the production areas. The landscaping included tree planting and an external break-out space for staff.
www.yorkon.co.uk
Whenever I go to a networking event where there are interesting speakers, I find that just being there and allowing myself to be open to other peoples’ ideas is really rewarding. Talking to other delegates and listening to their experiences and the speakers’ stories always means that I can take insightful and tangible information away with me.
These events are plentiful, but it is easy for many people to find excuses not to go, and if you make those excuses you will miss out on valuable advice that can be implemented immediately.
This thought was running through my mind when I was on the train to Manchester a few weeks ago on my way to the BIFM North region tea party. The event would last for three hours and the travelling overall would take at least seven hours. Some would question whether it was worth the time and expense to attend, but are they looking at the bigger picture in terms of career advancement or self-improvement?
At the event I met many people who have become firm friends and/or clients/suppliers. I also picked up many tips and hints; improving my social media skills was one I acted on straight away. Attending raises my profile and keeps our company in others’ minds.
If you don’t network or go to events, you will not meet new people and crucially you won’t gain the benefit of learning new ways to do things.
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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