Project background

LPE are a major employer in the New Forest and surrounding areas, employing around 180 members of staff. Their state of the art 121,000 sq. ft. manufacturing area in Lymington is equipped with the latest manufacturing technology. They also have additional 33000 sq. ft. facility two miles out of Lymington which was fitted out four years ago with a number of the projects being handled by CID.

CID has a long-standing relationship with this customer and when Mike Batty took on the role of Facilities Manager in 2011 he had no problem continuing a lasting and trusting relationship between LPE and CID. For this new facility CID delivered the fitting out of a canteen area, the installation of a false ceiling, the removal of an area above a mezzanine floor and the construction of an inspection room underneath the mezzanine floor. Later they also delivered a large ‘room within a room’ which was to house two large grinders.

CID delivered…

The brief was for a room to contain two large grinding machines within a temperature-controlled environment. “Precision engineering invariably requires highly controllable environments combined with the ability to easily manipulate large items without encountering obstacles. As an example, we have turning and milling capabilities of up to four meters in length. For this reason, the structure I asked CID to create had to be free-standing and self-supporting,” explains Mike.

The design and installation of steel partitions was the main part of the project with a structure that would have no internal uprights and would be enclosed by a suspended ceiling. CID’s flexibility enables them to respond to specialist requests of this nature since industrial and similar environments often have different needs depending on the industry.

Getting on and doing it

Mike says: ‘Although I project managed the installation, CID delivered the lion’s share of it and they responded well to changes in the requirement and delays caused by other contractors that impacted on the timeline. The acid test with this sort of work is whether you’re happy to give them the next project and would recommend them to other people. CID score well on both counts from my point of view. There were some tricky aspects to this project but CID weren’t troubled by them at any time. They just got on and did it, and you can’t ask fairer than that.”

The team counts

“The people that come onto site and do the work are the ones that ultimately shape the relationship you have with a company. CID’s team are friendly and they inspire confidence with a high level of efficiency and bags of energy.”

Final thoughts?

“We’re looking at some new requirements that CID will be helping us with,” says Mike. “These will involve replacing a set of double doors to our Finished Parts Store and also erecting a caged area which will serve as a bonded store. It suits me on an ongoing operational basis that CID are as happy to work on smaller projects as they come up, as they are on the big ones. They’re a partner I can generally depend on.”