ROCHDALE IS WHERE THE HEART IS FOR PREMIUM FABRICATIONS

Posted by on 4 Oct 2023

Premium Fabrications began life in Rochdale in 2018 with Justin Smyth and Barbara Smyth at the helm and Kevin Jewell joining a couple of years later.  Between them, they have over 78 years of experience in the Stainless Steel Fabrication Industry supplying pharmaceutical, food, petrochemical, nuclear and oil and gas sectors. 

The business quickly grew out of their Rochdale facility and moved to Stockport, and despite the challenges faced throughout COVID, growth continued at a fast pace and in 2022 the business moved back to their home town of Rochdale with the support of Rochdale Development Agency (RDA).

Mayor of Rochdale, Counsellor Mike Holly, visited the site on Transpennine Trading Estate, meeting members of the team, customers and suppliers.

Employing 28 people with the ambition to grow by another 10 employees over the next two years, family remains at the heart of Premium Fabrication.  Owned by husband and wife team Justin and Barbara Smyth, their goal is to create a legacy for their children two of which have already joined the company and their grandchildren, they believe that being a passionate family run business they stand out against competitors and this enables them to deliver on their mission to give the customer a service that is superior through quality, traceability, cost and delivery. 

Whilst the skills gap within manufacturing continues to be a challenge, Justin believes that young people are the future and apprenticeships are key, giving opportunities to young people that don’t necessarily have traditional academic skills or afford the university route. 

Justin, Managing Director said “Rochdale has a great nucleus of manufacturing talent and we believe that we need to futureproof the profession for future generations.  We need to change the perception of manufacturing in the UK, it is not the dirty industry it once was and with this trade you can work anywhere in the world”

Justin goes on to say “our business is all about the people, they are key.  If you give somebody the opportunity, build confidence and create positive attitudes you get loyal employees that grow with the business and ultimately this gives the competitive edge.  Premium Fabrications is living proof of this, we couldn’t have grown at this speed if it wasn’t for our employees.”

Working closely with Rochdale Training for apprenticeship pipeline, they currently have two apprentices working in the workshop and have employed a third due to start in the coming week. 

The team had to overcome many challenges when the business opened, by drawing on existing relationships with suppliers they had previously worked with, understood their aspirations and had belief in the business model, they supported with the flexibility needed from the outset, without this backing they would not be seeing growth trajectory the business is experiencing today.

Premium Fabrications is an outstanding forward thinking company in the eyes of their customers, with innovation very much at the forefront.  This aligns with the future of Advanced Manufacturing in Rochdale where the RDA along with The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) are leading the £22.6m Advanced Manufacturing & Productivity Institute (AMPI) project, the UK’s Research & Innovation’s flagship Strength in Places Fund, which will be used to drive innovation for the UK’s advanced machinery manufacturers.