Chatteris is flying high as aviation firm Aerotron relocate to town bringing with them 70 new jobs
Exciting plans for a former Fenland onion factory mark the start of hopes that Chatteris will become a specialist manufacturing hub backed by both the district council and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
World-renowed Aerotron Composites Ltd, one of Europe’s leading suppliers to the aviation industry specialising in component support solutions to both the civil and military markets, has relocated its current operation from Huntingdon to Chatteris, and is set to create up to 70 new jobs.
The company has been working on revamping the former Produce World factory off the A141 for months in preparation for the move, which has been described by Fenland’s economic growth manager Simon Jackson as a major breakthrough.
Speaking exclusively to the Citizen, Mr Jackson, who took on the role just as lockdown began, said the long-term aim is to make Chatteris a specialist manufacturing hub for companies that can take advantage of the skilled engineers coming out of the nationally recognised apprenticeship scheme run by Stainless Metalcraft.
He said there had been lengthy negotiations between Fenland District Council and Aerotron to ensure their needs were met and to help make their relocation as smooth as possible.
Alongside the revamping of the existing premises, Aerotron has submitted a planning application seeking to demolish two of the buildings on the site and replace them with two new purpose-built units.
A design and access statement drawn up by Swann Edwards Architects on behalf of Aerotron in support of its plans to demolish an existing cold store and warehouse to make room for a workshop and associated accommodation explains: “Chatteris is identified by the Combined Authority in their Growing Fenland Report as an innovation area with the goal of developing and growing the business base in Chatteris, creating an advanced manufacturing launchpad. It is felt that this proposal fully aligns with these goals.”
The statement adds that revamping of the former onion factory is phase one of the project with the workshop being phase 2.
Ian Davies, general manager of Aerotron Composites, said: “With the completion of Phase 1 of the Chatteris facility, all manufacturing has now successfully transferred from the former Huntingdon site to our state of the art composite facility.
“We are delighted with the way we have been able to achieve this milestone which would not have been possible without the help and support of Fenland District Council.
“Their continued support has encouraged us to embark on phase 2 of the development, bringing commercial and military aircraft repair capability to the facility. This will create new jobs in a highly skilled sector of aerospace.
“In the near term we will also be looking at apprenticeships and graduate employment in 2021 to support our growing capability. We are proud to be part of the Chatteris community and look forward to a bright future for the company and our employees.”
Fenland District Council leader Coun Chris Boden said: “We believe there are some exciting times ahead in terms of businesses choosing to relocate to Chatteris and we hope that Aerotron is the first of many.”
This view was seconded by Mr Jackson who stated the hope was that suppliers to firms like Aerotron would also choose to come to Chatteris as many firms are now looking to shorten the distance of their supply chain following the issues thrown up by the pandemic.
