Ambitious growth plans that will see a global firm make significant investment in the North East of England have taken a step forward.
Olympus Global, a UK and European-wide distributor of high-quality engineered components, has submitted plans to develop a new £2m warehouse distribution facility in Newton Aycliffe to directly serve the region’s industrial and automotive industries as well as wider supply chains.
The plans, which are being designed, delivered and project managed by leading architectural and engineering firm, Building Design Northern (BDN), will see prime brownfield land at Aycliffe Business Park in County Durham be fully transformed into a fit-for-purpose 15,000 sq ft warehouse development with modern office space.
The site will not only facilitate major existing customers including Unipres, Thorn Lighting and Gestamp Tallent, but also help to attract new UK clients in the north and Scotland. It is anticipated that more than £7m worth of parts and engineering components will be shipped from the facility in the first year of operations.
The development is expected to be completed in Autumn 2025 and once open, will create up to 15 new jobs making a significant contribution to the local economy.
Ryan Doyle, Director at Building Design Northern (BDN) which works on behalf of major UK-wide clients, said: “This will be a significant industrial scheme not just for County Durham but also for the UK and North East region, and being able to design and project manage the development from start to finish on behalf of Olympus Global is fantastic.
“Our experience working with similar industrial clients enables BDN to advise and guide fast-growing organisations from initial conceptual stages right the way through to final build, fit-out and hand-over. Providing this level of expertise, efficiency and reassurance, especially when clients are based outside of the region, proves critical in driving forward developments on-time, creating a fit-for-purpose scheme that meets specific needs and supports future growth.
“The Newton Aycliffe development includes multiple bespoke features to align with the business’s carbon reduction targets, and these have been considered as part of the early design to align with the wider sustainability requirements set out in the County Durham Plan. BDN will continue to work on technical aspects of the project throughout the application to ensure a streamlined delivery in line with Olympus Global’s ambitions.”
Olympus Global - a £40m turnover business - supplies engineering fasteners, precision-turned and machined components, castings, aluminium extrusions and forgings to major organisations within the industrial and automotive sectors.
The North East facility will become the company’s fifth site, currently having its main head office and distribution centre in the Midland’s industrial heartland. It also has facilities in Spain and Hungary allowing it to distribute engineered components around the world.
Keith Rice, Managing Director at Olympus Global, added: “This latest development supports the next phase of the company’s growth strategy and marks a new chapter in our 50-year history. We have multiple clients already in the North East of England, especially within the automotive supply chain, so it seemed the obvious location for us to invest heavily and deliver a new advanced distribution facility to support our growing portfolio and product demand.
“The site at Newton Aycliffe is the perfect location and enables us to build from scratch rather than renovate an existing building. It provides immediate access to main transport routes and offers close proximity to the industry’s big players and cluster locations.
“Our clients are fast-paced organisations that require the highest level of turnaround, dispatch and efficiency, so we’re delighted to be working with Building Design Northern to get this off the ground and establish our presence in the North East.”
