Filtermist International is pleased to announce that it has secured planning permission for a brand new production facility and global Head Office based in Telford in the UK.

The new building represents a £3m investment by Filtermist and has been designed to accommodate all aspects of the company’s operation. The approved plans include 848m2 of office space, and production, warehousing and dispatch facilities totaling 1918m2.

The Swedish owned company has outgrown its current premises where it manufactures extraction units used to collect oil mist generated in a wide range of metalworking and other manufacturing applications.

Export trade accounts for a significant proportion of Filtermist’s turnover, with over 90% of all products manufactured in Shropshire destined for overseas markets.

Managing Director, James Stansfield, comments, “Global demand for our units is growing at a huge rate as more and more countries are recognising the importance of protecting their workers from the harmful effects of hazardous airborne particles.

“This shift in attitude has had a huge effect on our business and we are expecting the upward trend to continue for the foreseeable future as more and more legislation designed to safeguard air quality is introduced around the world.”

Regeneration and Investments Team Leader at Telford & Wrekin Council, Dylan Webster, has worked closely with Filtermist from the outset of the new project. He says, “We have been working hard to support the expansion plans of local business and to secure new inward investment and this is a prime example of that.”

Councillor Bill McClements, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Finance and Enterprise, said: “We very much look forward to seeing the construction of Filtermist’s purpose built premises, and welcoming the organisation to what is a flagship employment site, located just 10 miles from the new Jaguar Land Rover engine plant. The level of interest in commercial land has been extremely encouraging and shows no sign of slowing.”

Filtermist plans to move its entire operation to Telford by July 2015, as James explains, “We have been based in Bridgnorth since the company first began back in 1969. Our business has grown exponentially since then and we need our global headquarters to reflect the fact that we are now a world leader in our field.

“Our Bridgnorth base has served us well for almost 40 years, but we’ve expanded as far as possible there so the time has come to move to larger purpose built premises to ensure we can continue to meet market demand for our products and services.”

Shrewsbury based SSJ Chartered Surveyors and Filtermist Operations Director Randall Taft, responsible for managing the project, will be appointing a construction company over the next few weeks.

Historically, Filtermist has made a significant contribution to the local economy through employment, hosting and entertaining international visitors, and sponsorship of a variety of locally based organisations.

James continues, “We are all very excited about plans for the new building and look forward to welcoming visitors from all over the world to Telford once we’re up and running.”