Polyframe set to create up to 300 jobs in Halifax with opening of fifth factory

Halifax based Polyframe, are embarking on the most ambitious expansion plans in their 22 year history with the opening of a fifth factory.  The company has acquired a second site in their home town, Halifax, which will create 300 jobs over the next 3 years, for the town and more than doubles shop floor manufacturing space to half a million square feet.  Once the site is fully operational Polyframe will employ approximately 500 personnel in Halifax and over 650 group wide.

This massive investment by Polyframe has been has been further increased with a grant from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s Business Growth programme which is supported by the governments Regional Growth Fund.  These funds will be used to undertake building works that are required to alter the Hopwood Lane site.

Polyfame’s existing Halifax factory on Gibbet St will continue to operate as normal, however with volumes of windows and doors increasing, additional manufacturing capacity was essential for the business to continue the impressive growth and development experienced over the last three years.

The new location, on Hopwood Lane, is only 200 yards from the current Gibbet Street site, and covers approximately 130 000 square feet.  The alterations to the infrastructure of the buildings will be carried out over the next few months to create a perfect workflow for the factory and ensure that production is as efficient as possible.

Plans for the new site are ambitious and as well as further manufacturing space Polyframe also have plans for a training academy and further office space at the new facility.  Central to the expansion programme is the ability for Polyframe to be able to consolidate the products manufactured at the two factories and maximise efficiencies and space.

Chris Watson, Polyframe Group Managing Director, commented, “If we continue to grow at our present rate the current Gibbet St factory would be running close to capacity by the end of the year. For the company to continue to grow and introduce new products to the market the need for a second Halifax factory was essential.  The layout of the buildings allows us to create full window and door lines, whilst at the same time creating areas for niche products such as shaped and arched frames, bi-folding doors, fully glazed frames and Polyframe’s unique fire escape ladder”.

An integral element of the Hopwood Lane factory will be the creation of the Polyframe Training Acadamy.  Chris continued, “Our workforce is set to double in Halifax to around 500 to 600 personnel and as such we need to ensure that full and comprehensive training is available.  We intend to not only establish a fabrication school for windows and doors but also IT, sales training, order processing and even accounts.  We recognize that a business is only as strong as the people who carry out the day to day running of the company”.

The task of recruiting up to 300 new employees means that the Training Academy will become essential for Polyframe to continue manufacturing the high quality products that the company are associated with.

Work will commence imminently on the new Hopwood Lane site and Polyframe are planning to have the new factory operational by the summer, and fully operational by the end of the year, which is exciting and positive news for Halifax and the surrounding areas.

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Environment, Cllr Barry Collins said “The expansion of Polyframe is excellent news for the company, it’s workforce, for Calderdale and the Leeds City Region.

“Our business team and grants programme helped make this a reality, and I’m delighted that both this backing, and that of the Local Enterprise Partnership has helped the business’s growth continue in Calderdale.”

Polyframe was established in 1992 and quickly grew to become a major UK manufacturer, producing in excess of 8000 windows and doors every week by 2010. The extraordinary acceleration in growth of the Polyframe Group began in 2011 when the Company purchased the assets of Aspen Windows, with a 100 000 square foot manufacturing facility in Norwich.  This acquisition enabled Polyframe to service their ever-increasing Southern customer base.  After a year of consolidation the Group opened a brand new factory in Mansfield to manufacture composite doors.  This was further augmented with a window and door factory in Portadown, Northern Ireland being opened.

Polyframe have a clear strategy for the growth of the business and 2013 saw the product offering taken to new levels.  The Northern Ireland factory enables Polyframe to manufacture products specific to the Irish and Scottish market, whilst the composite door factory manufactures a product that is an integral part of the Polyframe portfolio and is becoming increasingly popular as the door of choice by homeowners.

The Polyframe Group also incorporates a nationwide network of Trade Centres, 12 in total, that sell products to smaller tradesmen and builders.  The ethos of the Trade Centres is to employ local people to serve the local market supplying an extensive range of products direct from the manufacturer.