Expanding manufacturer takes space at thriving North West enterprise zone

A key 20,000sq ft unit at Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone has been snapped up by a growing Blackpool business. Willis and Thornley, which was recently bought out by the Jeremias Group, has moved into Pioneer House at the south of Blackpool Business Park. The company, which manufactures industrial chimneys and flues, has moved from its original home on Cowley Road into the industrial unit formerly occupied by Lebus Engineers.

The move allows the site to become the new UK headquarters for German-owned chimney manufacturers Jeremias. The new unit is based five minutes from the M55 motorway and offers plenty of warehousing space, allowing the company to increase production and take on larger orders. Jeremias has invested in two 20t overhead cranes to increase the size of items it can manufacture, as well as a full renovation of the offices, HD Plasma Profile Machine and additional welding equipment.

It has also retained five of the staff from the old Lebus Engineering, taking its total headcount up to 35, with plans to expand in coming years. Robert Willis, Managing Director of Willis and Thornley and Industrial Design Director at Jeremias UK, said: “We had worked closely with the Jeremias Group for over 12 years in both supplier and client roles, the synergy between both businesses was a natural progression to drive the growth of the Jeremias business in the UK. “The backing and support of the Jeremias group has been phenomenal and enabled us to grow the Blackpool facility to be the market leader for industrial chimneys in the UK.”

Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone Cllr Mark Smith, Cabinet Member for Levelling Up (Place) at Blackpool Council, said: “This is a real success story for business in Blackpool. A local company which started here has now become the new UK headquarters of a major global engineering company.

“The business could have chosen to move their offices elsewhere but have stuck with their roots to employ more people on the Fylde coast, and I wish them the best of success. “Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone is being expanded to help companies like Willis and Thornley to grow locally, while also offering sites for businesses to relocate or expand into Blackpool, where they can make the most of our thousands of manufacturing and machine workers.” Willis and Thornley is the latest company to move onto and invest in the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone, which is one of the largest of its type in the country and becoming one of the North West’s premier business destinations.

Expansion of the Enterprise Zone is under way, with a new GBP18.5m road to access 10.5 hectares of additional development land and provide a second access road under construction, with development land available from summer 2025. In May this year Blackpool Council launched a search for a development partner for a seven-acre site at Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone. The Eastern Gateway site has already been granted planning permission for employment purposes, with the preferred use a series of industrial units catered to the advanced manufacturing, energy, food and drink and digital sectors.

The development plots, which could cater for units ranging from 15,000 sq ft to 75,000 sq ft, will be available from summer 2025 and will be targeted for industrial and warehouse use. Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news… Previous Article