Norbar Torque Tools has officially opened the doors to its new 120,000ft2 facility on Wildmere Road in Banbury. John Brodey, son of founder Bill Brodey and chairman of the holding company, led the celebration alongside a number of figures from the region.
The new 120,000ft2 space is more than twice the size of the old premises in Beaumont Road, comprising approximately 20,000ft2 of office space and 100,000ft2 for the production facilities. From the new site, Norbar will continue to produce torque solutions for a variety of global markets, including transportation, petrochemical and energy generation sectors.
Home to nearly 300 people, the new premises are designed and constructed to provide a positive working environment and benefits from a number of sustainable features. As such, the heating and cooling – designed to maintain the entire factory at constant temperature – is provided by air source heat pumps and 10% of the electricity consumed throughout the building is generated by solar photovoltaic panels on the roof. Natural light from the large skylights provides an effective working environment and when artificial illumination is required, it is provided by LED panels controlled by lux and motion sensors.
Following a tour of the new facility, Conservative MP for North Oxfordshire, Victoria Prentis said: “It is wonderful to have seen the impressive outcome of significant investment by a local manufacturer, and their continued sales success globally.”
One crucial development within the new facility is a larger calibration laboratory which operates within strict climatic conditions. The laboratory has been approved for torque measurement between 0.005Nm and 108,500Nm and is accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to ensure competence and traceability of measurement.
Neill Brodey, managing director at Norbar stated: “Everything that we do in the company relies on the knowledge that our torque standards are correct. The additional space and improved climate control will allow us to continue to develop our calibration capabilities and further improve the support we provide to our customers.”
Norbar Torque Tools www.norbar.com
