New premises are key element in growth for Lake Chemicals & Minerals Ltd, thanks to John Truslove
A Redditch company supplying minerals and formulations to some of the country’s leading businesses has invested £500,000 in a new Innovation Hub, aided by commercial property agents John Truslove.
As a result, Lake Chemicals & Minerals Ltd is targeting major growth on the back of its busiest-ever year – despite Covid-19 – when it achieved turnover of £20 million.
Working with Ben Truslove, joint manager director of John Truslove, Lake identified new premises at 3 Moons Park, on the North Moons Moat industrial estate, as a site to expand its laboratories, a move that has also seen Lake launch a recruitment drive for highly-skilled technicians, chemists and scientists to further its work across a wide range of industries.
The new site, a short distance from Lake’s manufacturing base in Padgets Lane, represents a £500,00 investment to create a Lake Innovation Hub with integrated R&D and hub office facilities with meeting rooms and social entertaining area for employees and customers.
Lake’s managing director Steven Cartlidge said: “Lake Chemicals & Minerals started renting offices in Redditch with two people in 2003 and our new home in 2021 is the Lake Innovation Hub, giving a home to 60 employees in a hybrid remote working/hub operation.
“Redditch has developed into a hub for entrepreneurial SMEs and Lake has found a good home in Moons Park. As an agile entrepreneur, Lake has created high quality speciality jobs within innovation and entrepreneurship at the heart of activities feeding a manufacturing unit also located in Redditch.
“Lake has a near 20-year commitment to Redditch and we hope to extend operations in line with the continuing success of the business.
“Success is only possible by collaborating with companies that want to make a difference and Lake’s partnership with John Truslove has been essential component of this successful move enabling continuing growth.”
Lake Chemical’s marketing and communications manager Emily Armstrong added: “The company started out sourcing minerals and elements for clients, providing support for the technical coatings industry but we started getting inquiries from across the spectrum, which has seen us expand into a wide range of industries.
“More recently we have expanded our capabilities to incorporate new product development, testing and manufacturing, which is why we needed to expand our laboratory operations.”
Lake has now expanded to five divisions covering food and drink, pharmaceutical, personal care, coatings and engineering.
“We adapted very well to the pandemic crisis, with many staff working remotely while we continued to operate our laboratories in a highly Covid-safe manner. In fact, we had our best-ever year, achieving our £20 million turnover target, and we are looking forward to another year of strong growth,” said Emily.
“The lease at our previous premises was coming to an end so, with our need to expand, it was the right time to move. The new premises provided space for us to fit out our larger new laboratories as we established our new Lake Innovation Hub.”
She added: “We contacted John Truslove because they are well-known agents in the Redditch area, connected to people who know what is happening to the town infrastructure. They are trusted operators and we have found them open, friendly and diligent, working for both landlord and tenant.”
Ben Truslove, joint managing director of John Truslove, helped Lake CM secure a ten year lease on the 5,675 sq ft unit at 3 Moons Park, Burnt Meadow Road, on the North Moons Moat estate in Redditch.
He said: “Lake CM had very clear ideas about the kind of premises they needed to secure in order to take the business to the next level. We are delighted we have been able to help them secure the right site on one of the most popular industrial estates in the area.”
Redditch-based chartered surveyors and valuers John Truslove was recently named Most Active Agent in Worcestershire in the Radius Data Exchange survey produced in conjunction with EG, the commercial property market magazine.
Joint managing director Ian Parker was also named Worcestershire Dealmaker of the Year AND Warwickshire Dealmaker of the Year for 2020. The survey year, which runs from August to August, saw John Truslove record a 36% increase in deals negotiated over the 12 months.
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