Increasing Offsite Construction Capacity

Merit significantly increases its offsite construction capacity to meet industry demand for sustainable, cost-efficient and high-quality solutions which can be delivered at speed

Northumberland-headquartered Merit, the UK’s leading offsite engineering and construction specialist for technically complex, zero-carbon emissions buildings, has announced a 4000m2 factory expansion at its Cramlington site, to accommodate its plans for continued growth.

Merit already has one of the largest construction manufacturing facilities in the UK at 270,000ft² (25,084m²) and it is now extending its factory space to address increasing demand and to better meet customers’ needs. In line with its impressive growth plans, Merit has already doubled its workforce in the last two years and expects this facility expansion to add over 50 new jobs.

The extended high-bay facility will accommodate two new manufacturing lines for Merit’s UltraPOD+ product, an expandable full building solution, and will enable the pre-assembly and testing of two-modules vertically stacked. This provides an enhanced understanding of the alignment of modules prior to the transportation to the site. Additional equipment, such as two 50T gantry cranes and a module lifting frame, will also be included into the new setup.

Merit expects the new facility to be operational by April 2023.

Unlike traditional construction methods which fail to drive measurable productivity growth, Merit’s vertically integrated and innovative product-based approach offers high-quality solutions to meet a range of client requirements. In addition, Merit’s approach greatly reduces project lead times, maximises material efficiency, lowers capital and revenue costs and significantly reduces external professional consultant fees.

Tony Wells, CEO of Merit, commented: “Merit’s strategic objective is to deliver a step change in productivity within the construction industry and to show that investment in R&D and leveraging innovative approaches, such as advanced 4D BIM modelling technology, can lead to significant improvements. Our factory expansion will enable us to further optimise our way of working and better serve our customers.”

Merit is a well-respected and trusted expert across the construction industry, serving a variety of sectors, including biopharma. In this field, Merit has extensive experience in delivering an impressive portfolio of high-containment facilities, including the new RNA Centre of Excellence for the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), Abingdon Health’s lateral flow manufacturing site, and Piramal’s ADC manufacturing facility expansion. The factory expansion will enable Merit to compete even more successfully for larger contracts against global competition and deliver long term growth for the business.