Firm investing more than £5 million to protect long-term future of Wellingborough site

U-Pol has been manufacturing products for the vehicle repair industry for nearly 70 years.

The British manufacturer, which produces products from its factory and research and development centre in Denington Road, Wellingborough, has just revealed plans to invest £5.3 million over the next 18 months.

Bosses want to introduce state-of-the-art equipment with the long-term goal of modernising the factory and protecting the future of the Wellingborough site.

However, staff are being consulted over the impact the changes may have on their roles.

Guy Williams, CEO of U-Pol Ltd, said: “U-Pol has been undergoing an unprecedented transformation over the past 12 months to ensure the business remains competitive in the markets it serves.

“No stone has been left unturned in our quest to meet our sole goal of increasing world-wide sales and productivity in order to ensure the future growth of the business.

“We are now poised to start the next phase of our process, to evaluate the production processes in place at our Denington Road site in Wellingborough with the intention of investing in new equipment, personnel training and production processes.

“It is our intention to automate many of our production processes, enabling us to increase productivity and ensure we gain a market leadership position in what is a hugely competitive market, not just here in the UK, but throughout the world.

“This follows significant investment in the last 12 months in research and development, our brands and commercial functions.

“This investment is a hugely positive step forward for the business.

“We will be conducting a full consultation process with all employees whose roles may be affected by our plans.

“The clear intent of U-Pol will be to minimise the impact of our modernisation plan on the existing workforce.

“While in the short-term this will be a challenging period for our U-Pol colleagues that are affected, the investment in our site creates the capacity for significant future growth and stability.

“Therefore this ensures that in the long-term U-Pol will remain a committed and significant employer in Wellingborough and Northamptonshire.”

Mike Pentecost, chief marketing officer for U-Pol, said they are growing in a number of overseas markets, including America and China, and he believes the investment is a positive post-Brexit story as they look to build on this success.

He said they have more than 200 staff at the Wellingborough site, the majority of which are from the town or elsewhere in Northamptonshire, and the business employs about 330 people in total.