Cumbria-based Forth, an award-winning engineering solutions business, is launching a new division, Forth Fabrications, at a newly acquired second base in Barrow-in-Furness, to support BAE Systems’ submarine division and other industries in the North West of England.

Forth, which has been delivering solutions to industry challenges for more than 23 years, opened its first Barrow facility five years ago. The company, which also has bases in Flimby and Cleator Moor, operates in the nuclear, oil and gas, renewables and other advanced manufacturing sectors.

Forth differentiates itself by creating bespoke, purpose-built solutions for highly regulated and safety-critical environments, specialising in designing and manufacturing engineering solutions to remove the need for humans to work in hazardous environments.

Known for its quality of work, built on more than two decades of providing tried, tested and trusted safe solutions to the highly regulated nuclear industry, the Forth team is very experienced in working safely and quickly, and delivering value-for-money solutions for its customers. Forth Fabrications will create five new jobs in Barrow, which will help the company deliver a ‘one-stop-shop solution’ to clients in a diverse range of industries.

Rob Sneesby, Forth’s operations manager in Barrow, said: “We have had so many requests for welding and fabrication work that we are launching Forth Fabrications. It is a different workstream so we needed a dedicated area to expand and support all our operations across the whole business. We have found a new site in Barrow and have moved in and are offering these services to our customers in a range of sectors.”

End-to-end control
He continued: “The advantage of having this capability in-house is that we have total control over quality, turnround time, and are able to ensure every process meets the same high standards which have helped Forth establish its reputation as a premier SME in the Barrow, Furness and Cumbria area. We are already performing all of the design, manufacture, installation, and testing. Now we will add fabrication welding which means we will have full end-to-end control of projects that require this capability.

“We want to be the first name on peoples’ lips when they think about engineering solutions, fabrication, mechanical testing and installation and be the first company they come to for solving engineering challenges.”

The expansion comes at a time when Forth’s 14-strong Barrow team will be creating new posts including a mechanical engineer, quality controller and additional technicians, as well as project management degree apprenticeships. This comes after the business recently employed a welder in readiness for the new facility’s opening. The new site at Ashburner Way will also be used to train new welders.

Forth’s Barrow operation is an industry success story. Established in 2018 by Tony Sneesby, it employed four members of staff by the time it set up an office a year later at Peter Green Way. The company’s reputation for quality led to contract success and it moved its base to Flass Lane, Barrow, employing eight people at the time. Now that number is set to more than double.

Mr Sneesby added: “Our sustainable employment programme is at the heart of what we do at Forth. We focus on work being a fulfilling and rewarding part of life. Forth takes this approach, which can be very different to working for a larger company, so that our people gain expertise and experience across a range of skills and disciplines and have an opportunity to take responsibility early in their careers. We feel this well-rounded approach helps people’s personal life, as well as career development, and hopefully means they are fulfilled in their job here at Forth and enjoy solving different challenges.”

Forth won Best Community Involvement at the in-Cumbria business awards in November. It has picked up an array of awards and accolades during its 23 years in business.