£275k project to double factory site

The £275,000 expansion project at Scotts Precision Manufacturing, of Eastville, began earlier this month, with completion expected by July.

It has been made possible thanks to backing from the Rural Development Programme for England LEADER Fund.

Once finished, 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, has been granted planning permission for a 6,000 sq ft building with overhead foive-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, said: “We are very grateful to the team from Lindsey Action Zone LEADER Fund (the body overseeing the LEADER programme locally) for helping to fund this exciting expansion plan.”

Mr Scott said the business was enjoying a ‘really buoyant’ period, with international interest in its Evolution Separator – a machine used primarily to separate debris such as stones and loose soil from produce – being just one example of this.

As well as investing in the new building, Scotts are also purchasing a suite of new machinery to allow it to meet demand.

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 – a 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, receiving several enquiries from other local authorities as a result.