Inspiring apprentices will be key part of Bruderer UK's Telford move

The manufacturer of high-speed presses will open a 48,000 sq ft factory and showroom in Telford in 2024 with the company’s Swiss management team flying in to kickstart construction of the new factory at Hortonwood West yesterday.

McPhillips have won the tender to build the bespoke facility, with the project being led by Cyril Orchard. And, as plans gather pace, Bruderer, a market leader in high precision punching technology and turnkey solutions, said it would be working towards developing future talent.

As well as new jobs, it will create an apprenticeship programme to cope with an unprecedented increase in demand for its technology.

Andreas Fischer, Chairman of Bruderer said: “We have apprentices in our locations all over the globe, starting with our headquarters in Switzerland. It’s part of our DNA.

“We want to attract young talent and bring them into the engineering profession and we find, when we do that, a lot stick around.”

“It has been challenging for manufacturers to attract young people. Many want to go into computing, banking or other industries.

“So we realise we have to be near pools of potential and we feel we will be in Shropshire.Then, it's about being attractive, which starts with the facilities you build.

“It’s important for us to bring young people through so we have a future. We have to do more and always look to be better at bringing apprentices through.”

Adrian Haller, Managing Director of Bruderer UK, added: “We have a relationship with In-Comm Training and one of the key roles we are going to have is bringing apprentices into Bruderer UK so we can underline and bolster our future.”

The impressive new facilities will, the company believe, help boost the development of that pool of talent, inspiring young people to want a career in manufacturing.

The new factory, the result of significant investment, has reinforced Bruderer’s 55-year commitment to the UK.

It will see the creation of a dedicated competence centre capable of servicing new and pre-owned machines, restoration of legacy presses and, for the first time, a modern showroom that will give a first-hand insight into new models, ancillary equipment and turnkey solutions.

Mr Haller said the company was delighted to be relocating its existing facility from Luton to Shropshire.

“Eighty per cent of what we do is Midlands based,” he said. “If we want any machining done or anything to do with the business it all stems around the region, so the move makes sense from an efficiency point of view. We felt Shropshire was a key place because of the blue chip companies that are on the doorstep and the motorway networks which are around the area.

“We had outgrown our Luton facility and many of our staff, and indeed customers, are based in the Midlands. It was a natural decision to find a home in that region and Hortonwood gave us not only the perfect location, but also the space to build our new factory from the ground up."

“We are proud of the fact McPhillips wanted to tender for our construction and when they won the tender, we were more than happy.

"They are a renowned, top-of-the line company and it feels like a deal made in heaven.”

The new factory will mean Bruderer UK can house spares, a cleaning and paint shop, machining area, quality checking station and exhibition space to promote all solutions under one roof.

Staff will have outside areas set in landscaped gardens while there will be air-conditioning throughout, showers, changing rooms and EV charging.”

Mr Haller, who started at Bruderer UK in 1998 and has headed up the UK operation since 2007, added: “Customers will benefit significantly from this investment. For the first time, they will have a state-of-the-art demonstration centre to explore our latest high speed presses and even set-up tooling projects to prove-out the effectiveness of the machine.

“We also have lots of training space, so can have staff from our clients on site to show them exactly how to get the most out of their Bruderer high-speed stamping machines.”

Mr Fischer added: “The Midlands is a key manufacture base and we have a prime location for our building on a new industrial park so we are very happy about this move.

“It will be a stand-out building, which has been reflected in the design. It’s the opening to the estate, showcasing the area and providing prominent exposure for us as a company, UK manufacturing and everything around it.”