Local dignitaries, customers, suppliers and key contractors joined park home and lodge manufacturer Omar for the official opening of its new £1.1m, 43,806 sq. ft. factory extension in Brandon.  The commissioning of the new finishing bays marks the start of an exciting new era for the company; the added factory capacity supports the on-going growth of the business, helping to address market demand for both its lodges and retirement park homes, it will also create over 80 new jobs in Brandon and help to fund local council services.

As a market leading, solutions provider, designer and manufacturer to the residential park home and lodge park marketplace, Omar Group has built an impressive brand portfolio over recent years and now encompasses four distinct and respected brands: Omar Park & Leisure Homes, Wessex Unique Lodges & Park Homes, Omar Park Development Services (OPDS) and Boutique Lodges, Holidays by Omar.

The Omar Group team has worked tirelessly over the past six years to more than treble their sales, taking the group from a £10m business in 2010, to a business with turnover in excess of £30m in 2015.

In February this year Omar Group featured in the London Stock Exchange Group’s, 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain and in June, as further testimony of their exceptional performance, they were among only 150 British businesses to have been selected as one of 1,000 Companies to Inspire Europe; a landmark report which lists the 1000 most dynamic and fastest-growing small and medium-sized companies in Europe.

Over the last three years the company has created 210 new full time jobs, and ten apprentices were recruited last year in trades as diverse as Information Technology and Computer Aided Design to Carpentry and Plumbing.

In 2015, Omar invested in its manufacturing capability by opening a new production plant in Valletta Street, Hull; this new operation has already reached full production capacity.  To further support on-going growth and address demand, the company then made the decision to invest significantly in expanding the groups production facility in Brandon, Suffolk.

Omar appointed local contractors Bury Developments to manage the ambitious £1.1m, 43,806 sq. ft. factory extension development, which includes eight specially-designed finishing bays, additional storage and a new flooring area.  This new development has the full backing of Omar’s landlords, Forest Heath District Council, who provided funding for over £500k of the investment; a move which will create a significant number of new jobs in the area not just at Omar, but within their supplier base. The rent Omar will pay on the new facility will also help to fund local council services.

The official opening of the new factory extension saw councillors from Forest Heath District Council and Brandon Town Council, joined by Omar Group customers and suppliers from across the UK.  Guests attended the official ribbon cutting by Terry Hunt, EADT Editor in front of the new factory extension, then returned to Omar’s showground where the group’s luxury park homes and lodges were available to view and a hog roast was laid on.  Factory tours were then hosted, giving guests the opportunity to see how the group’s park homes and luxury lodges are made.

Omar Group chief executive, Dean Westmoreland, said: ‘We are delighted to be joined today by district and local councillors and so many of our friends, customers and suppliers. Thanks to our strong working relationship with Forest Heath District Council, our new factory extension will enable us to continue with our ambitious growth strategy, deliver genuine quality and efficiency improvements and add a further 80 new full time jobs to the 210 we have created in the past three years. Following the referendum, staycations are all set to continue to boom and our park homes should thrive due to a shortage of age-appropriate, affordable, single-story housing. By investing in this site we have also been able to demonstrate our commitment to Brandon. I am delighted that the new factory is now up and running and look forward to welcoming over 80 new members to the Omar team.’

Councillor Stephen Edwards, Forest Heath’s cabinet member for resources and performance, said: ‘The opening of this factory is a fantastic achievement for all involved. For the Council, it means that we have been able to invest in our commercial property portfolio to help a local company achieve its ambitions and create more than 80 new jobs, adding to the current workforce of 367 people it employed.

‘Not only that, we have also negotiated a new lease, the income from which will go towards supporting the future costs of our services to our communities. For Omar it means further growth and sales can be achieved, and most importantly, it has safeguarded its future in the local area.’

For further information visit www.omar.co.uk or call 01842 810 673.