Hull-based shower manufactuer to expand East Yorkshire operation.

A Hull-based shower manufacturer is to expand it’s operation in the Humber Region by investing £6million in a new state-of-the-art factory at Melton.

Kohler Mira is the latest company to announce it’s move to Meltonwest Business Park, the 100-acre development by Hull-based property company, Wykeland.

Kohler Mira employs 80 at its current base in National Avenue, west Hull, where it produces the Flight ranges of shower trays and shower panels.

It will move into a purpose-built maufacturing facility designed by Wykeland’s in-house team, resulting in up to 40% more space and enabling the company to make more use of robots, lasers and automation to boost production.

Dominic Gibbons, Wykeland’s Managing Director said, “The Mira project is a 63,000 sqft manufacturing facility and we are naturally delighted that they have chosen Meltonwest for their new base”.

“Meltonwest is already recognised as a prime location for this type of commercial investment and we will be announcing further significant developments over the next few months”

Wykeland bought the land nearly 10 years ago and infrastructure works commenced in early 2008. Since then Wykeland has developed, or is currently on site with more than 500,000 sqft of commercial space, helping to create a hub for hundreds of jobs.

Meltonwest has quickly become the desired destination for some of East Yorkshire’s leading firms including Heron Foods, House of Townend and Allam Marine.

The Heron development alone created more than 200 construction jobs predominantly with local contractors working for principal contractor Volker Stevin. Kohler Mira’s new facility is being constructed by Hull-based Hall Construction. Mr Gibbons added “Using local-based contractors is something Wykeland try to do wherever possible”.

Kohler Mira’s expansion is the result of soaring sales both at home and abroad, adding that the move would safeguard the future of it’s Hull-based workforce. Operations Manager Ian Battye said the Meltonwest facility would enable the company to install state-of-the-art machinery to meet an increasing demand for its shower trays. He added “Over the past two years we’ve seen turnover increase by 20% year-on-year, with significant overseas sales supporting this position, which is impressive considering the current state of the construction market”.