Expanding firm is forced to quit Whitchurch

Tension Control Bolts (TCB) has put its Whitchurch headquarters up for sale, and is planning a £3 million move across the Welsh border to Wrexham Business Park.

The company has provided bolts for a series of high-profile contracts, including the Olympic Stadium.

Managing director Tim Stokes said: "We need more space, gas and electricity and these are not available in Whitchurch."

While the move is not necessarily bad news for the company's workers – bosses expect to retain around 90 per cent of the 40 Whitchurch-based workers as a result of moving relatively locally, and plan to continue to grow in 2014 – Whitchurch is to lose a company which had put its name to major projects all over the world.

TCB's bolts were used in the building of the Olympic Stadium and the redevelopment of Edgbaston Cricket Ground, as well as a major project to build a new cover for the decayed nuclear reactor at Chernobyl.

Now it has put its existing premises up for sale through agents Legat Owen, with a guide price of £750,000.

Part of the problem, according to managing director Tim Stokes, lay in the ongoing problem of power generation in Whitchurch, which is among the infrastructure projects under the focus of the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership.

Mr Stokes said: "We need more space and more power – both gas and electricity – and sadly, none of these were available to us in Whitchurch in spite of numerous meetings with the council, Advantage West Midlands and politicians.

"Crewe was an obvious choice closely followed by Telford but had we moved to either of these places we would have lost 90 per cent of the staff because of the travelling distance.

"We are specifically moving to Wrexham because of its close proximity to Whitchurch and its power. We anticipate keeping 90 per cent of our staff and increasing numbers in 2014/15 by 15 to 20 per cent."

He added: "There was no land made available to build on in a sensible time frame, and such land would have very limited power supplies, which would not be enough for our furnaces.

"There are no vacant buildings of the right size locally, and after Advantage West Midlands was dissolved any hope of SP Manweb upgrading local substations collapsed, in spite of what politicians might have said."

TCB is to invest £3 million in the move, which has already seen its production move over into Wales, with its headquarters and warehouse expected to follow by April.

A number of major stadia have also benefited from the use of Tension Control Bolts' products, including Newcastle's St James' Park, the new south stand at Twickenham rugby stadium, and Centre Court at Wimbledon.

It has also played a role in the ongoing restrengthening of the famous Forth Bridge linking Edinburgh to Fife in Scotland, and Blackfriars Bridge across the Thames in London.

Star comment: Business, but not at any price

Shropshire is in the middle of a quiet battle in which it is fighting to keep things in this county, ranging from health services and companies to strategic control of this and that.

Today is one of those little setbacks in the battle. Tension Control Bolts has put its Whitchurch headquarters up for sale and is planning a £3 million move to Wrexham Business Park.

This is a company which has put its name to major projects all over the world. TCB's bolts were used in the building of the Olympic Stadium.

"We need more space and more power – both gas and electricity – and sadly none of these were available to us in Whitchurch," says managing director Tim Stokes.

He added that there were no empty buildings of the right size available locally, and says there is no land available on which to build within a sensible time frame.

The upshot to all this is that 40 Shropshire jobs are being exported out of the county. Some or all of the workers may choose to follow the jobs, and Wrexham is not that far away, but it is far enough.

In the world of business, companies will make decisions for business reasons, so there is no point in indulging in hand-wringing. Whitchurch, and Shropshire more widely, has to see what can be done to keep firms that are thriving and expanding, and attract others which might be inclined to move in should the county be able to meet their requirements.

As in so many things, it is a matter of balance. Blighting huge tracts of countryside with soulless business parks would provide jobs and ensure Shropshire has more to offer business, but is it what Salopians really want?

Amid the sadness that TCB has outgrown Whitchurch, there is something positive to be drawn, in that Whitchurch nurtured this success and helped the firm on its way to bigger things.

And with the TCB buildings up for sale, there is the hope that another firm of similar potential will move in to use the Made In Whitchurch tag with pride.