Wates, one of the largest privately-owned construction, development and property services companies in the UK, has started construction work on a new gigafactory in Sunderland, for Envision AESC. The project the largest by single value in Wates’ 125-year history is AESC’s second Sunderland battery plant. It will have capacity of
As part of an extensive refurbishment of its Leatherhead headquarters building in Surrey, the Wates Group opted to replace its current hand drying system with the EcoCurve 550A. By switching to this smart technology, SAVORTEX estimates that the company will make significant cost and energy savings, including 77.10 tonnes of
Wates Group is one of the UK’s largest privately-owned construction, development and property services companies. The company has confirmed that they will deploy defibrillators throughout their organisation. Wates Group’s Headquarters is located in Leatherhead, Surrey and the Group will be partnering with Cardiac Science, the leading manufacturers, in order to
Arco, a company which specializes in the procurement of health and safety services to different companies all around the United Kingdom, is very pleased to declare that it has secured itself a vital new contractual partnership with one of the leading giants in property building and construction: the Wates Group.
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
Wates, one of the largest privately-owned construction, development and property services companies in the UK, has started construction work on a new gigafactory in Sunderland, for Envision AESC. The project the largest by single value in Wates’ 125-year history is AESC’s second Sunderland battery plant. It will have capacity of 12 GWh and will employ more than a 1,000 people when operational in 2025. It will be powered by 100% Net Zero Carbon energy, aligning with the company’s global commitment to sustainability. Moreover, the state-of-the-art facility will produce AESC’s latest generation batteries, with 30% more energy density to improve range and efficiency, and manufacture enough batteries to power 100,000 electric vehicles annually. The gigafactory Wates is building forms part of a wider £1bn partnership with Nissan and Sunderland City Council to create EV36Zero, an electric vehicle hub supporting next generation EV production and accelerating the transition to net zero carbon mobility. A traditional Japanese first pillar ceremony marked the first phase of work on Friday 9th December, with AESC CEO Shoichi Matsumoto tightening the bolt on the building’s ‘first pillar’ – a traditional Japanese custom on construction projects. The ceremony also marked a decade of EV battery production on Wearside with the first electric vehicle battery built back in 2012, to support production of the first-generation Nissan LEAF. “Envision AESC is the largest single project by value in our 125-year history. We are integrating years of expertise from across our business and supply partners to deliver this immensely complex scheme. This gigafactory represents the future of green, automotive manufacturing – not only in the North East, but nationally – and like all our projects, we’re committed to building it sustainably and for the long-term benefit of the region. It was an honour to celebrate this first phase with AESC and we look forward to our next milestone being completed,” said Sir James Wates CBE, Chairman of Wates Group. The company has doubled in size since production began and today employs more than 470 people in Sunderland. Globally AESC batteries are found in 800,000 electric vehicles operating with zero critical incidents. The footprint of the new building will be the equivalent of 23 football pitches and use 14000 km of mains cables. When complete the 360m long building will be longer than the nearby Northern Spire bridge across the River Wear. The latest integrated Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) smart technology will be deployed to monitor and optimise energy consumption, manufacturing and maintenance at the gigafactory. Construction of the new building on the IAMP business park – which spans land in South Tyneside and Sunderland will pave the way for potential future investment that could eventually see the site generate 35GWh capacity and 4,500 new high value green jobs. Wates Group, alongside its specialist engineering services arm, SES Engineering Services, is leading the design and delivery of the build, working alongside Turner & Townsend who will act as the project manager and cost manager. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
As part of an extensive refurbishment of its Leatherhead headquarters building in Surrey, the Wates Group opted to replace its current hand drying system with the EcoCurve 550A. By switching to this smart technology, SAVORTEX estimates that the company will make significant cost and energy savings, including 77.10 tonnes of CO2, totalling £14,630 over a seven-year period. Since the redevelopment, Wates has made an overall saving of 20% on its energy consumption by working with sustainable technology suppliers. Dr. Zainab Dangana, Wates Sustainable Technology Services Manager, said: “Wates is committed to the long-term future of the built environment. Businesses are facing increasing pressures to improve their carbon footprint and, as a result, are looking for solutions that can save both energy and operating costs. “It was important to us that our newly refurbished Leatherhead headquarters building reflected our company ethos and we were extremely impressed with the SAVORTEX® EcoCurve range and the savings it can deliver.” Syed Ahmed, CEO at SAVORTEX®, said: “This partnership with Wates is just one example of how our hand dryers can help businesses improve efficiencies and decrease costs. Our hand dryers have been designed to transform the washroom market by delivering unrivalled levels of sustainability, energy and operational resource savings.” Using our low energy digital brushless motor, The EcoCurve™ Smart Dryer consumes just 550W, and hygienically dries hands in 11* seconds, offering the lowest cost and carbon per dry of any warm air dryer.
Wates Group is one of the UK’s largest privately-owned construction, development and property services companies. The company has confirmed that they will deploy defibrillators throughout their organisation. Wates Group’s Headquarters is located in Leatherhead, Surrey and the Group will be partnering with Cardiac Science, the leading manufacturers, in order to offer the Powerheart® G5 automated external defibrillators throughout Wates’ business. The defibrillators will help both experienced and first time rescuers act in a quick and confident manner if there is ever an emergency involving a sudden cardiac arrest. Cardiac Science is a company that develops, manufactures then markets Automated External Defibrillators and also provides a portfolio for training maintenance and support services for their equipment. The Wates Group employs more than 4,000 people and works with another 10,000 supply chain operatives and partners while they deliver their projects around the UK. Wates’ agreement with Cardiac Science will mean that the G5 defibrillators will be made available to all Wates Group employees throughout its business. The equipment will be purchased for long term projects and will be supplied via a weekly hire for shorter term projects. The construction group will also be able to take advantage of the unique online learning modules provided by Cardiac Science which are called CardiAcademy. This resource is well equipped to help the employees of Wates Group increase their knowledge around Sudden Cardiac Arrests and will also teach them how to use the G5 AED. The Wates Group partnership with Cardiac Science is a continuation to the company’s commitment to health and wellbeing, as well as the Groups Zero Harm strategy which will ask for all its employees to take responsibility for their own and their colleagues’ safety. Wates chose the Cardiac Science equipment because of its innovative features that includes a self-checking regime that makes sure that each AED will be able to perform as expected in an emergency.
Arco, a company which specializes in the procurement of health and safety services to different companies all around the United Kingdom, is very pleased to declare that it has secured itself a vital new contractual partnership with one of the leading giants in property building and construction: the Wates Group. Currently one of the greatest UK-based family-run enterprises operating within the building and construction industry of property development, it is hoped that this three year contractual agreement will be mutually beneficial to both leading enterprises. Essentially, what the health and safety company Arco will provide to the Wates Group is PPE over the course of the next three years. With more than 4,000 employees at the ready, the owners of the Wates Group are extremely concerned with the safety of their workers on whatever sites that they are working on in the country and it is hoped that Arco are the perfect match in terms of being able to supply their workforce with the appropriate and necessary protective equipment that the workforce will need in order to carry out the various tasks that it will need to carry out for its 10,000-plus base of investors and partners. With this contractual agreement valued at no less than £2 million a year, it is widely hoped that the partnership will be a success and will ensure the future safeguard and wellbeing of every Wates Group employee. As John Dunne of Wates Group explains, the company’s commitment towards achieving a “Zero Harm” accreditation by the end of the next three years through the combined services and health safety supplies of Arco means that they have high hopes that the company and its workers will be able to blossom and work safely with the implementation of PPE supplied by the ever-reliable Arco services. Placing great emphasis on the safety and wellbeing of their workforce, it is hoped that the contract will ensure that they are safer and happier than ever before working for the Wates Group.
