MacDonald welcomes first unit at £50 million Earls gate business park

Grangemouth Councillor Angus MacDonald, Falkirk Council SNP Group Spokesperson on Economic Development has today welcomed the opening of the new Fas-Co distribution centre at the £50 million Earls Gate Business Park on Grangemouth's former ICI site.

Fas-Co have merged 3 of their engineering supply depots into one, centralising their operations from Dalgety Bay, Stirling and Grangemouth into the new state-of-the-art £1.5 million distribution centre in Grangmouth which will safeguard 68 jobs and potentially create another 15. The new distribution centre will incorporate 30,000 square feet of purpose designed accommodation.

Councillor Angus MacDonald commented:

"We are very pleased that Fas-Co decided to centralise their operation in Grangemouth. It is clear that they recognise Grangemouth is a major industrial hub and we look forward to attracting more firms into the area, not just at Earls Gate Business Park but also at various other new industrial development sites around Falkirk district. Our local economy is clearly on the up thanks to the 'My Future's in Falkirk' initiative which was introduced under the previous SNP administration on Falkirk Council. Linking this initiative with the pro-enterprise agenda of the new SNP government at Holyrood shows that future prospects for the business climate in this area are very healthy indeed."

Councillor MacDonald continued:

"The Fas-Co firm itself is a great success and is widely regarded as the 'supplier of choice' to the engineering sector, distributing some 17,000 industrial fasteners and engineering consumables to more than 300 customers across the UK with Fas-Co seeing sales grow at a rate of over 25 per cent per annum for over 5 years."

Fas-Co managing director John Quinn added:

"We are delighted to have secured space at Earls Gate Business Park and are confident that our new facility with its central location and excellent connections will help firmly cement Fasco's position as market leaders in the Scottish industrial fasteners, safety, PPE and engineering consumables market. This new facility is the first bold step in our expansion plans. We aim to take full advantage of the boom in the construction and engineering sector and have ambitious plans to double our turnover in 5 years."

The Earls Gate Business Park aims to provide space for up to 20 businesses and is part of the 'My Future's in Falkirk initiative. It is a £50 million joint-arrangement development between Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley and international chemical company KemFine, which is expected to provide unique accommodation for up to 20 businesses.

For further information contact Councillor Angus MacDonald on 01324 482100 (home) or 01324 506139 (office)

A company profile of Fas-Co can be accessed at:
http://www.fas-co.com/profile/index.asp