The company expanded again in 1984 with the acquisition of nearby Valley Mills, where sections of the manufacturing process were housed. To augment their facility, Fort Vale had the foresight to set up a purpose-built investment casting foundry – the first component manufacturer in the industry to take this step.
Fort Vale has always sought to anticipate and support growing customer demand through significant long-term investments in its manufacturing and distribution capabilities. The decision to build a new flagship manufacturing plant is a natural part of this approach and reflects the company’s deep commitment to its customers, employees, and the industries they serve. The move represents the culmination of a three-year programme of expansion, including the establishment of operations in Shanghai and Singapore, and new premises for their sales and service centres in Holland, the US and Russia.
Recently the company acquired a piece of land 10 miles away from its current headquarters and is now constructing a state-of-the-art flagship manufacturing plant and office accommodation which will rationalise the Nelson sites. The movement of machinery and personnel is in progress and shall continue throughout the rest of 2007. Construction work is ongoing and the new office block will be completed in the summer of 2008.
A celebration of Fort Vales 40th anniversary was held in the new premises in May this year in the form of a gala dinner for the employees as a way of inaugurating the factory. As well as “christening” the site, it gave the workforce a huge morale boost and a sense of eager anticipation for the move.
The new facility will occupy 7 acres of the 17 acre site, allowing plenty of scope for future expansion. Immediate benefits will be the improved unity and flow of the manufacturing process from raw materials to finished products. The company embraces a “lean manufacturing” philosophy and is working with the Manufacturing Institute to improve efficiencies and reduce all levels of waste. As opposed to current headquarters, the new location is logistically ideal, situated close to the M65 motorway network which affords easy access both for goods-in and despatch. Since the facility is purpose-built, no compromise needs to be made and every attention to detail will enable optimum efficiency in all areas. All of these factors will be of great benefit and will have a positive effect on the standards of quality and service that Fort Vale can offer its customers.
The management team have gone to great lengths in planning this transition to ensure the minimum of production disruption. Extra measures are being introduced at this time to minimise any temporary impact upon lead and delivery times.
Fort Vale has worked hard to become the leading supplier of valves and equipment for the transportable tank industry, making step improvements in product design and quality and reducing lead-times and real prices year on year. To retain its dominant position and protect its intellectual property rights requires Fort Vale to innovate continually with new products and product improvements in order to maintain the margins and price levels demanded by increasingly cost-sensitive tank manufacturers. Fort Vale’s capabilities span design, investment casting, tool making, fabrication, machining, assembly and testing. It is the only company in its field to provide a full turn-key solution.