Council representatives (Image credit: City of Wolverhampton Council)
American firm Fortune Brands Innovations, has shown a ‘significant’ commitment to the UK market with ‘major’ investment in a new manufacturing site in Staffordshire.
In a statement, Fortune Brands Innovations – the parent company behind some of the biggest names in the KBB world including Aqualisa and House of Rohl brands, Victoria and Albert, Perrin and Rowe and Riobel – said the move will “drive Fortune Brands Innovations’ growth in the region” and support the company’s luxury brands within the kitchen and bathroom industry.
“Our new facility will provide us with vastly increased capacity in both ceramics and brassware assembly to meet an ever-growing demand,” the company said. “On top of this it will house our Head Office and a consolidated distribution and inventory centre for all products. The plan is to be operational as a headquarters by the end of this year, and start production during 2024, taking a phased approach.”
Building work on the site is already underway and the 270,000 sq ft manufacturing centre-of-excellence, located at the i54 Business Park, on the South Staffordshire border with Wolverhampton, will also be the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) headquarters for Fortune Brands’ Water Innovations portfolio. Expected to be operational by the end of the year, it will also include a customer experience centre and training facility and is set to create 250 new jobs in the local area.
Steve Geary, Fortune Brands general manager, commented: “This investment reflects our continued commitment to the luxury Ceramics and Brassware sectors, and we are hugely excited about the project. This new facility will allow us to better service our customers and facilitate future growth.”