A ground-breaking ceremony at Gloucester Business Park last month heralded the start of construction of a 100,000ft² ‘state of the art’ manufacturing facility for TBS Engineering, which is a world leader in automation for the battery industry (www.tbseng.co.uk).

The company expects to move into the new facility in the spring of 2018, after which it will close its existing operation in Cheltenham, where it has traded for the past 50 years since being founded by Thomas B Stamp.

Managing director David Longney said: “Our investment in the new facility will support our on-going growth and expansion plans.

"TBS has enjoyed sustained growth over the last 50 years, and our new facility will enable us to continue to lead the world in the manufacture of lead-acid battery equipment.”

The new facility, comprising 80,000ft² of manufacturing space and 20,000ft² of offices, “will become the global head office of the £35 million operation and home to TBS’s 170 employees”.