‘Our continued investment reflects our long-term commitment to the business and our confidence in where it is heading’
Thurston Group’s Ottringham site(Image: Thurston Group)
Around 55 jobs are set to be created at an East Yorkshire manufacturer as part of a major investment made by its owners, who saved the site from closure. Thurston Group is an engineering-led manufacturing partner founded in 1970, which makes modular accommodation for a host of sectors.
The firm, which also has a site in Wakefield, went into administration at the end of last year amid a catalogue of challenges, including clients scaling down investments, decision-making delays, and rising labour and materials costs. Advisors at Leonard Curtis had been brought in to market the business for sale – and a pre-pack deal was struck on December 22 last year with industrial business group GCH Corporation Ltd – which owns a number of companies in the manufacturing sector.
The move saved 200 of the 275 jobs previously at the group. Documents filed by the administrators show the group was bought for £6.45m by GCH Corporation, which also paid out an additional £175,000 as a contribution to wages and salaries as the deal was inked, three days before Christmas.
Now work has begun on a multimillion-pound investment at Thurston Group’s manufacturing site in Ottringham, to create a new purpose-built facility for some of the company’s most technically demanding work. The 13,000 sqft facility will manufacture specialist structures, including blast-resistant buildings that protect people on industrial sites housings for critical electrical and energy equipment and enclosures for hydrogen and battery storage systems.
The structures, part of the company’s Engineered Solutions work, will go on to serve sectors including energy, oil and gas, utilities and data centres, many of which have a strong presence across the Humber. Expected to be operational in the first half of 2027, the investment is backed by Thurston’s owner, GCH Corporation and will increase the company’s specialist manufacturing capability by 158%.
The project forms part of plans to develop Ottringham into an operation capable of supporting more than £40m of annual output. The firm said the investment reflects the business’ confidence in its East Yorkshire operations.
Matt Goff, group managing director of Thurston Group, said: “This is a major commitment to East Yorkshire and will be pivotal to the next stage of Thurston’s growth as we demonstrate we are engineered for the challenge. Against a challenging economic backdrop, we’re continuing to invest for growth, putting spades in the ground and significantly expanding our specialist manufacturing capabilities.
“Customers come to us with their most complex and technically demanding work – structures that have to protect people, keep critical equipment running and perform in some of the harshest environments. We solve those challenges through engineering expertise and practical experience, turning difficult requirements into solutions that perform in the real world.
“This takes skilled people and the right facilities, and we’re investing in both here, expanding our capabilities and creating 55 new jobs locally. We’re grateful to GCH Corporation for its ongoing support, which makes investments like this possible.”
The new facility will bring together dedicated fabrication with overhead lifting capability, specialist shot blasting, controlled paint finishing and final inspection, with segregated production zones which it said creates a safer, more efficient production flow.
Cassie Hutchings, founder and CEO, GCH Corporation, said: “Thurston has a clear direction and the people to deliver it. Our continued investment reflects our long-term commitment to the business and our confidence in where it is heading.
“Ottringham is a significant step, an investment in Thurston’s people, its capability and the infrastructure it needs to grow here in East Yorkshire, and we look forward to supporting the team through its next stage of growth.”
Did you know you can make Hull Live a preferred source of Hull news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here.