The three new production lines at the Crawley site are the culmination of a two-year project to reshore most of Vent-Axia’s domestic fan manufacturing. The company has invested more than £350k in tooling for the new lines, which have doubled its on-site manufacturing of residential fans.

Cameron called Vent-Axia “a great example of a company that has brought manufacturing back to the UK, creating jobs for hard-working people.”

According to Ronnie George, CEO of Volution Holdings, the group that owns Vent-Axia, reshoring the production made sense not just from a competitive point of view, but also in terms of customer service and responsiveness. “Moving Vent-Axia’s manufacturing back to the UK allows us to both supply products abroad to the wider Volution group and prepares us for further international expansion,” he says.

“Increasing our UK manufacturing capacity goes to underpin Volution’s ambitions to be a more substantial international player in the ventilation market, which is illustrated by our acquisition of two Swedish ventilation companies during the last 18 months,” he adds.

The reshored production is also helping Vent-Axia:

•  to manage stock levels better;

•  to develop products and make design improvements;

•  to reduce lead times for introducing enhancements; and

•  to cut CO₂ emissions by up to 15 tonnes a year through reduced shipping and flights.