MODULAR bathroom pods manufacturer Connex Offsite in Newry has secured a £3 million contract to supply property developer Mount Anvil with pods for its Royal Eden Docks scheme, which is seeing that part of east London re-emerge as a globally significant commercial, cultural and residential centre.
Connex is aggressively targeting new business throughout the UK, viewing the residential market as having major scope for future expansion.
And in the next two months it will recruit staff for a variety of roles including joiners, operations managers, designers, general labourers and tilers, to meet its rapidly growing order book.
Its managing director Brendan Doherty said: “Mount Anvil, which has 30 years of construction history under its belt, recognised the high quality of our pods and standard of service from recent major projects we have delivered in Central London and decided our product was a perfect fit for its supply chain requirements.
“We have seen huge growth in recent months and the Covid-19 crisis has been the catalyst for a shift to modular construction.
“Off-site manufacturing is being embraced by the industry because of the restrictions on the level of labour on site. And because our pods are completely finished in a controlled environment, shrink wrapped on the factory floor and shipped to the construction site, we are reducing the numbers of trades required on site.”
Connex launched in February last year with a £1.2 million cash injection, and by August had announced plans to create 140 jobs over the next five years following a £2.5 million expansion of its operations.
Connex is part of a family group of successful businesses including Doherty Developments, Re-Gen Waste, Re-Gen Robotics and Re-Eng.
It says that, due to a significant increase in production, it will move into a new £2.5 million 60,000 sq ft facility ahead of schedule this August.
