Composites manufacturer goes for growth (From The Oxford Times)

Banbury composites manufacturer goes for growth

2:30pm Thursday 7th March 2013 in News By Andrew Smith, Business Editor. Call me on 01865 425460

HUNDREDS of workers at a Banbury firm are moving into state-of-the-art new premises custom built to accommodate its spiralling growth.

Staff at CTG, which makes composites for the aerospace, motorsport and medical industries, are in the process of occupying the £14m “centre of excellence”.

The new site will bring six previous locations on the Thorpe Industrial Estate under one roof in Chalker Way.

By June, when the move is complete, it will be home to 200 staff with a further 150 jobs set to be created in the next five years.

CTG spokesman Kate White said: “About 30 per cent of people have come across so far and we are still hiring new staff, a process which will ramp up towards the middle of the year.”

The 137,000 sq ft new facilities include a gym, technical library and flexible meeting spaces.

CTG, formerly known as the Crompton Technology Group, was the Oxfordshire Business of the Year in 2007. It was taken over by aerospace company Goodrich in 2010 which in turn was snapped up by the United Technologies Corporation, an American aerospace and building conglomerate, in July last year.

CTG works in markets including aerospace where it provides composite materials to clients including Boeing and Airbus, while it also supplies most of the Formula One teams.

Ms White added that when the move is complete, just 40 per cent of the building will be occupied, allowing the firm to continue growing without having to move again.

Meanwhile, motorsport firm Prodrive’s plans to move from its Banbury headquarters in Acorn Way the former Hella factory site nearby have been delayed by a year.

Delays in the planning process mean it will not leave until summer next year with a retail park on its current site opening a year later.

A spokesman said: “The planning process has taken a lot longer than expected. It has been frustrating.”

Asked if the economic downturn had contributed to the delay, the spokesman said: “We are champing at the bit to get going. We have received a lot of positive support.”