Hochiki Europe announces £5.5 million investment in new Kent facility

Residing on a 1.92-acre site, the new building is over 24,000 ft² and adds to the established European headquarters and R&D Centre based in Gillingham. The building is part of the ongoing strategic expansion of footprint for the European arm of the Hochiki Group, duly affording the company space to expand its existing operations in warehousing, production and distribution as well as the sales and administrative teams.

This year marks the 30th Anniversary of Hochiki’s operations in Europe. This latest news signals an exciting addition to the company’s property portfolio and is being viewed as a significant investment in future infrastructure.

Ultimately, the new facility will ensure that future demand for the company’s systems is met and also that order volume is delivered efficiently and effectively to customers in the UK, across Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa.

Globally, Hochiki employs over 2,000 colleagues who work across six manufacturing plants, 38 sales offices and 14 subsidiaries. The opening of the Chatham facility realises new employment opportunities in the South East, adding to the 180-strong cohort of staff members already employed at the head office in Kent.

Speaking about the news, Graham Lowe (managing director at Hochiki Europe) explained: “Despite the challenging few years we have faced as a global community, I’m proud of the efforts our teams have made to ensure that our continued growth has been sustained. I would like to thank each team member for their fantastic efforts on behalf of the business.”

Lowe added: “Over the last six months, we have been able to expand our teams to strengthen the expertise we offer our customers. Now, with the opening of this new building, we can continue to deliver a world-class service in fire safety to existing loyal customers and an ever-growing pool of new ones.”

*Further information is available online at www.hochikieurope.com