£275k expansion plans for Scotts Precision Manufacturing

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Scotts Precision Manufacturing is set to more than double the size of its Lincolnshire factory this year after securing a substantial grant from the Rural Development Programme for England LEADER Fund.

The £275,000 “Slate Worx” expansion project began earlier this month with completion expected by July this year. Once completed the enlarged facility will help Scotts realise its ambitions of doubling its production levels over the course of the next 24 months.

The company, which manufactures vegetable handling and harvesting machinery in Eastville, near Boston, has been granted planning permission for a 6,000 square foot building with overhead 5-ton crane, which will house its assembly area along with a two-storey office block and stores.

A minimum of four new full-time members of staff will also be recruited as part of the grant agreement over the next three years.

Derek Scott, managing director of Scotts Precision Manufacturing said: “We are very grateful to the team from Lindsey Action Zone LEADER Fund for helping to fund this exciting expansion plan.

“We are enjoying a really buoyant period with lots of interest in our Evolution Separator both in the UK and overseas, especially in the United States.

“Changes in pesticide regulations in the UK, with the banning of Diquat, has led to an unprecedented number of enquiries about our Trinity range of haulm toppers, so all in all everything is looking very promising for next year and beyond.”

As well as investing in the new building, Scotts are also purchasing a suite of new machinery to allow it to meet demand with new state of the art CNC lathe and a CNC press brake for folding steel on the company’s shopping list.

In addition to developing machinery for agricultural use, once the new factory is complete, Scotts will be able to drive forward the development of its Verge Harvester, an innovative piece of machinery to collect grass cuttings from roadsides and transfer it to biomass plants, where it can be transformed into electricity.

Scotts successfully trialled its new machine with Lincolnshire County Council in the summer of 2018, receiving several enquiries from other local authorities as a result.