Mabey Bridge expects the investment to lead to the creation of 240 new skilled jobs in South Wales, in addition to the 400 already employed by the company at its bases in Chepstow and Lydney.
Mabey Bridge recently purchased South Wales’ largest speculative industrial unit along with 18 acres of land at Newhouse Farm Distribution Park in Chepstow, for £13m.
The firm has now lodged a planning application with Monmouthshire Council to double the size of the existing warehouse to allow the new fabrication facility for the towers to go ahead.
‘The investment goes against the grain of the decline in the manufacturing sector in the UK,’ said Peter Lloyd, managing director of Mabey Bridge.
‘We are forecasting that production at the facility will provide around half the UK’s requirement for wind-turbine towers, greatly reducing the need for developers to import.’
This 32,140m2 facility, which has been fully forward-funded by parent company Mabey Holdings, will be capable of fabricating turbine tower sections up to 5m in diameter and 40m in length.
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