Flowing along nicely: local water treatment company expands its operations in Rochdale

Posted by on 14 Jun 2016

A local water treatment company has bought new premises in Rochdale after securing multi million pound contracts with the MOD and the Royal Australian Navy.

Salt Separation in Gorrell Street provides organisations all over the world with machinery to convert seawater into drinking water and has just secured an £8.5m contract with the MOD as well as a £2m contract with the Royal Australian Navy.

And now, with the help of a Rochdale Council funded advisor from the Greater Manchester Growth hub, the company has bought the mill next door in a move which is expected to create new jobs for Rochdale residents.

Director, Stephen Grindrod, said: “We’re both from the local area and we’d never move the business from here because it’s a great location. We’ve got Manchester airport and the Liverpool docks on our doorstep and we have a good support network in the council, RDA and the Greater Manchester Growth Hub.”

Fellow director Daniel Shackleton, whose father helped found the company in 1990, said: “Rochdale has given us a great workforce too. We have a lot of highly skilled engineering roles here and around 90% of our 60 employees are from the borough. We’ve also got 5 apprentices working were, who we found through the Rochdale Training Association.”

Big name clients the company supplies also include Shell, P&O Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Harrods and British Antarctic Survey.

Councillor Richard Farnell, Leader of Rochdale Borough Council, said: “It’s incredible to think that people all over the told are drinking clean water as a direct result of the work of a company tucked away at the end of an unassuming street in Rochdale. Companies like this, with the support of our skilled local residents and organisations such as the council, are doing great things on the international stage and l’m incredibly proud of that. This expansion will create more highly skilled jobs in the coming months and I know our workforce will grasp this opportunity.”