A Swedish technology company is to create a state-of-the-art business centre in Warwick.
Semcon Product Information, part of the Semcon group which employs about 3,000 staff in 10 countries, creates product information with cutting-edge augmented reality and animation to create online technical guides for high technology industries.
It has agreed a deal with the CWC Group, which owns and develops Tournament Fields, to move to a bespoke 27,400 sq ft office and research and development complex at the Tournament Fields business park just off the M40.
CWC has started fast-track construction works on site with a completion of the main shell in September 2015. The fit-out work, including installing a new mezzanine floor, will allow Semcon to trade from its new location – one of 45 across the world – at the start of 2016.
Semcon first moved to Warwickshire seven years ago and employs 140 staff in Kineton, but is now set to grow that number to closer to 200.
Torsten Sundin, Semcon’s Country manager for Product Information, said the move ended the three-year search for a location that would allow Semcon to continue to grow.
“We started in Kineton seven years ago with around 35 staff and have grown throughout that time but we now operate out of four separate buildings and really need to be housed in one,” he said.
“We needed a more suitable and efficient building for the work we do and we wanted to create a better environment for our staff and also for our customers.
“We predominantly work in the automotive industry and Jaguar Land Rover is a major customer in the UK, so our new centre will be perfectly located between its research and development facilities at Gaydon and Whitley.
“We have been constantly looking for a site and a location which will suit all those needs and at the same time allow us to continue our growth, and Tournament Fields fits all those requirements with the added bonus of giving us great visibility.”
Much of Semcon’s work centres around producing aftermarket information for automotive manufacturers and technicians who work on vehicles.
Sundin added: “Growing a workforce as we have is never easy but we have very good links with local universities and colleges and the move to Warwick will allow us to strengthen those relationships. We have allowed space to house around 180-200 staff in the building which will include Semcon Engineering Services, who provide engineering services to automotive manufacturers“.
CWC Group Director, Paul Shanley, said: “This move will allow Semcon to continue its impressive growth – and will bring another leading international company to Tournament Fields. We have attracted a host of high calibre companies drawn by the location and environment we can offer, and that is exactly what has brought Semcon here.
“This is exciting news for the Semcon, for Tournament Fields and for the region.”
Semcon will join Geberit, Eagle Burgmann, Pure Office and West Midlands Ambulance Service at Tournament Fields, which also includes Tournament Court, a 70,000 sq ft courtyard style office development which is now fully occupied.