Northumberland-based Merit is planning a 4000m² factory expansion at its Cramlington site - with 50 new jobs.

Merit, the UK’s leading offsite engineering and construction specialist for technically complex, zero-carbon emissions buildings, 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 growth plans, Merit has already doubled its workforce in the last two years and expects this facility expansion to add over 50 new jobs.

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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 in the new setup.

Merit expects the new facility to be operational by the end of April.

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Tony Wells, CEO of Merit, said: “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 serves a variety of sectors, including biopharma. In this field, Merit has extensive experience in delivering 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 for larger contracts against global competition and deliver a long-term growth strategy for the business.