European automotive and industrial component distributor, Olympus Global, has announced it is soon to break ground on its new multi-million pound distribution facility in the North East of England.

Ambitious growth plans, a significant £2.7m investment, and industrial architectural designs, civil engineering and project management expertise by Building Design Northern (BDN) all come together on Monday 06 October when construction starts at the 16,000 sq ft Newton Aycliffe site.

The announcement coincides with the launch of this year’s North East Automotive Alliance (NEAA) event which sees organisations from across the whole industry supply chain attend the annual expo held in Sunderland.

Olympus Global, a UK and European-wide distributor of high-quality engineered components, is building its first UK warehouse distribution facility outside of the West Midlands to directly serve industrial, automotive and wider supply chain companies in northern and Scottish regions.

The bespoke build – designed, delivered and project managed collectively by architectural and engineering firm, BDN, will see prime brownfield land at Aycliffe Business Park in County Durham be fully transformed into a fit-for-purpose scheme with dedicated storage space and modern offices.

The site will facilitate existing international customers and is anticipated to ship more than £7m worth of parts and engineering components in the first year of operations alone. The new facility will create up to 10 new jobs initially making a significant contribution to the local economy.

Ryan Doyle, Director at Building Design Northern (BDN) which is working on behalf of major UK-wide industrial and commercial clients including Olympus Global, commented: “Being able to announce the start of construction onsite is fantastic and it’ll be great to start seeing our designs coming out of the ground.

“We have worked closely with Olympus Global right from the start across all requirements to support this major scheme, and our knowledge, industry insight and technical expertise across different architectural and engineering disciplines has proved critical given our client is also based outside the region. The main contractor is ready to go so getting ready to break ground on the site is good news for Olympus Global, the industry and the wider business community too.”

BDN has appointed Halls Construction as principal contractor to deliver the development which also includes bespoke ‘green’ features to align with Olympus Global’s commitment to carbon reduction and sustainability. 

Olympus Global – a £38m turnover business – supplies engineering fasteners, precision-turned and machined components, castings, aluminium extrusions and forgings to major organisations within the industrial and automotive sectors. The Newton Aycliffe development will become the company’s fifth site including its head office and distribution centre in the Midlands and further facilities in Spain and Hungary.

Keith Rice, Managing Director at Olympus Global, said: “We are delighted to be breaking ground at Newton Aycliffe as it is a key strategic site for the company, and one which marks a new chapter in our 50+ year history. We work very closely with the region’s automotive supply chain, so it is also very timely to announce the start of construction date at NEAA’s expo event.

“The North East and County Durham is a prime location providing direct access to main transport routes and proximity to the industry’s big players and cluster locations.

“Our clients are fast-paced organisations that require the highest level of turnaround, dispatch and efficiency, so we’re delighted to be starting construction and making our mark here in the region.”