Bus manufacturer Mellor reveals major plans for new production facility in Scarborough

Mellor and ProMech Technologies will occupy a new 54,000-square-foot purpose-built manufacturing space featuring state-of-the-art equipment to facilitate design engineering, chassis conversions and homologation.

John Randerson, Chief Technology Officer at ProMech Technologies told The Scarborough News that the development is making "a long-standing commitment to Scarborough" .

"It is significant and it is based on some organic growth within the markets we work in," he said. "We see the technology aspect of our business increasingly playing a huge part of what we do in the future. It’s absolutely critical that we have solid foundations on which we build that growth."

Mellor (Scarborough) will support the company’s existing manufacturing base in Rochdale while boosting capacity and adding significant technological capability.

Mark Clissett, Mellor's Bus Division Managing Director, said: "This is one of the most important investments that Mellor has ever made.

"One which underlines our commitment to UK customers and one which reflects our longer-term ambitions for repositioning the business from 2022."

The new development will also create up to 50 new jobs, as well as relocating staff from an existing site in Eastfield.

The exact location of the new site cannot yet be revealed, ahead of a formal planning application to be submitted.

While no specific amount of investment was revealed, Mr Randerson said "it is in the magnitude" of millions of pounds and is expected to be complete between July and September 2022.

Mr Randerson, who was born and brought up in Filey and has lived and worked in Scarborough, said: "Sometimes people think ‘oh it’s a seaside town’, but I think it has so much more to offer than that label.

"There are good manufacturing organisations in Scarborough, there are fantastic engineering organisations in Scarborough and I think it is often overlooked that there is a really, really talented pool of good employable people in the region."

Partnerships with local schools and colleges will be formed to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning among young people to ensure a talented future workforce.

"There will be development of modern apprenticeships, and we have supported Engineering Week in recent years," Mr Randerson said. "We have engaged with work experience and we only intend to grow that further.

"It’s fair to say that it’s incumbent on us to further populate our talent pool by building those relationships with local schools and colleges to make sure the talent we have today doesn’t get depleted."

It is not initially expected that the new development will directly compete with bus and coach builder Plaxton.

"We’ve worked alongside Plaxton for many years," said Mr Randerons. "Bus manufacturing has gone on on that site in both guises for a number of years. As an ex-Plaxton employee of many moons ago, it’s a fantastic organisation. It’s fair to say that to date we have always, by coincidence, not competed in overlapping areas of vehicle manufacture."