The Manchester contractor is building a 16,000 sq ft facility for Laxtons at the Sapper Jordan Rossi Park, formerly known as the Baildon Business Park. Russells is part of a JV with developer Pendle Projects to deliver the 15-acre employment park.
Laxtons, the 109-year-old Bradford yarn business, will double its manufacturing capacity with the move next spring. The family firm, which made headlines when it brought its production back to the UK in 2010, has outgrown its existing home in just six years.
The business will now celebrate its 110th year of being in the industry with a move to the purpose-built facility, bringing the whole team together in a single building and providing space for the installation of new equipment as part of a planned expansion of the business. Laxtons will relocate 24 staff from the existing premises at Gordon Mills in Guiseley.
Laxtons makes ‘fancy and worsted wool yarns’ for hand knitting, upholstery and clothing, and counts among its clients many hand and machine knitting brands including Debbie Bliss, Erika Knight and John Lewis, along with clothing brands such as Chanel, Jaeger and Jack Wills. The business has invested heavily in state-of-the-art spinning equipment and in-house training of specialist operatives, producing higher quality materials and a lower carbon footprint than imported alternatives.
Owner James Laxton said: “We are already in the process of extending our product range and increasing our customer base, and require additional space as soon as possible to continue that expansion. The acquisition of this new facility represents a major investment for Laxtons and is clear demonstration of the upward trajectory we have been on since bringing our manufacturing operation back to the UK in 2010.
“We will be further investing in new equipment to allow us to grow the upholstery and clothing yarn ranges, and have already added an additional shift and a number of trainees to the rota to help cope with demand. We work very closely with our customers and we’re very much looking forward to showing them around our state-of-the-art spinning mill early next year.”
James added: “Our employees are our most important asset and ensuring all would be able to come with us in the move was paramount. So we were delighted to find this site where we could specify our requirements for a brand new building, with the appropriate power supply for our manufacturing needs, that is just two miles from our existing base at Guiseley, with excellent rail, bus and road links.”
Laxtons is the fifth business to announce its relocation to the business park, which is on Ottley Road. Another two firms are set to confirm their move in the coming weeks.
Mark Taylforth, director of developer Pendle Russells which is delivering the business park, said: “Laxtons is a huge success story for UK manufacturing, a business which is going from strength to strength, where investment in quality production is really paying off. We’re delighted to be building the UK’s newest spinning factory and helping a business which has so much history in this area, stay close to home without having to compromise on location or facilities.”
The remaining units at the Sapper Jordan Rossi Park are being marketed by agents Dale Eddison Commercial and Knight Frank.
