Staircase manufacturer Staircraft (Midlands) Ltd is planning to relocate to a £2m purpose-built factory by the end of the year.
The Hinckley-based company, which also aims to launch a new lightweight wood composite stair product, has applied for planning permission to build the 35,000ft2 factory at Nuneaton and hopes construction will be complete by November/December.
Staircraft boosted its output by acquiring BKL Joinery Ltd last October, a move the company claims makes it the UK’s second largest staircase manufacturer. BKL, which had lost its Coventry premises in a major arson attack a month beforehand, was renamed Staircraft and is now operating at another site in Coventry.
The new factory, expected to incorporate further CNC technology, will bring both operations onto a single site.
Managing director Andrew Hamilton said: “We supply the larger companies and larger housebuilders. With the shortage of land, most companies are building two or three storey houses, so two staircases for each house is a common factor now. So, our input is obviously greater.”
Staircraft, whose output is currently about 180 flights of stairs a week, is excited about the launch of its wood composite stair product, which has undergone testing at Chiltern International Fire. The company claims the product weighs about the same as parana pine.
The firm is also in discussions with the BRE about giving the composite material an environment profile under the EcoHomes scheme.
