The refrigerated vehicle manufacturer Solomon Commercials has started construction on a new facility following a fire in June 2023.
Last year, the company’s preparation and fabrication facility on the Carrs Industrial Estate in Haslingden suffered a major fire which saw the building unable to be repaired. Following recent demolition works, a new 20,000sq ft facility is under construction. Work is projected to be completed over the next few months with the factory planned to be operational later this year.
Solomon Commercials’ managing director Anthony Clegg, said: “Without doubt, the fire caused upheaval within the business and reduced our manufacturing capacity and capability, but more importantly, we’re relieved that nobody was harmed. It’s a testament to our people that we were able to respond quickly and reorganise our manufacturing estate to ensure we could still engineer and produce the quality refrigerated vehicles we’ve become known for.
“While the fire presented a challenge to our business, we also saw it as an opportunity to review our manufacturing processes. Consequently, we have been able to invest in new machinery and implement new working practices that will make us more productive. Once the work is complete, we’ll return to our optimum output.”
Solomon Commercials was founded in 1976 and has a workforce of more than 450 people. The company specialises in the manufacture of refrigerated vans, home delivery vehicles, rigids and trailers. Based across four sites totalling around 240,000sq ft of manufacturing space, all vehicles are designed and manufactured in the UK. As of 2021, Solomon Commercials manufactured around 3,500 vehicles annually.
Earlier this year, Solomon Commercials bodied the first of 151 Iveco eDaily chassis cab vans for Tesco. The vehicles joined Tesco’s Horwich home delivery fleet and were fitted with GAH Transport Refrigeration fridge units. Solomon Commercials made use of the on-board 15kW e-PTO and a second 12V e-PTO.
