Russells wins Joy Global warehouse contract

Russells Construction has been appointed to build the new £10m production and testing facility for international mining equipment manufacturer Joy Global at Logistics North in Bolton.

Designed by APL Architects and Healy Consulting, the 82,000 sq ft unit will allow for the testing of heavy equipment and machinery used for mining.

Reinforced internal and external floor slab will support machines of up to 100 tonnes, while pits around 3.5m deep have been designed to enable testing of roof support equipment used in the mining industry, which have loads of up to 2,500 tonnes.

The unit is made up of a 43,300 sq ft manufacturing and testing area, with 38,500 sq ft of offices. The project is due for completion by summer 2016.

This is the third unit to be built at Logistics North, Howarth Estates’ 550-acre industrial park at junction 4 of the M61.

Joy Global joins Aldi and MBDA. Aldi is constructing its 600,000 sq ft facility, which will be its North West headquarters, and distribution centre when it opens in spring 2016. Missile manufacturer MBDA is on site with its 120,000 sq ft facility, due to be operational from early next year.

The sale to Joy Global follows Harworth’s announcement in May that it had completed the first phase construction of the spine road and associated infrastructure, which opened up development plots, including the one purchased by Joy Global.

Groundworks are underway and construction is set to begin in the next month.

Andrew Russell, director of Russells Construction, said: “We’re pleased to be working with Joy Global on the design and build of this state-of-the-art new facility. It’s a really interesting project with a number of specific requirements. We have worked closely with the architect, engineers and the client to develop a scheme which will be perfect for their needs.”

Harworth’s agents at Logistics North are JLL and DTZ.