Peel begins construction on ‘colossal’ manufacturing facility

Buckingham Group has broken ground on a £75m facility on behalf of Peel Logistics and occupier Prowell in Ellesmere Port.

Prowell’s parent company Progroup is describing the plant as “the largest and most technically advanced corrugated cardboard manufacturing facility in the world”.

The 328,000 sq ft building, designed by UMC Architects, will stand on the former 45-acre Cabot Carbon site next to the M53 motorway. When fully operational in the fourth quarter of 2018, the factory is set to produce up to 500 million m² of cardboard each year.

The facility will replace Prowell’s current base at Pioneer Business Park, which was also built by Peel.

An outline planning application has been submitted for a further 468,000 sq ft of manufacturing space for Prowell at Ellesmere Port.

James Whittaker, development director from Peel Logistics Property, said: “It’s fantastic that post the Brexit decision a European operator such as Prowell is committed to investing and expanding their operation in Ellesmere Port, giving manufacturing and the economy a huge boost in the region. Enabling works that includes remediation of the site and construction will progress in tandem to ensure we deliver this colossal facility by quarter four in 2018.”