Renishaw Marks 15 Years at Miskin With First Phase of £70 Million Expansion Complete

Renishaw is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its purchase of the Miskin site in South Wales, coinciding with completion of the first phase of a £70 million development announced in 2022. When finished, the investment will double the size of the facility — a significant bet on UK manufacturing capacity for precision metrology products, additive manufacturing products and position measurement products.

From modest start to major manufacturing site

Renishaw acquired the Miskin site, located to the west of Cardiff, from Robert Bosch Ltd in September 2011. The facility was formally opened in October 2012 by then First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones — now Lord Jones — at a time when employee numbers stood at around 25. Today, the site employs around 950 people.

The investment trajectory has been consistent. Renishaw has spent around £150 million on the site to date, covering acquisition, refurbishment of legacy buildings, development of new halls and installation of advanced manufacturing equipment. That equipment base now includes 134 CNC machine tools producing around one million parts per month.

Hall 3 complete, Hall 4 finding its purpose

Completion of Hall 3 has taken usable space at Miskin to 617,000 sq ft (57,350 sqm). Once Hall 4 is completed and operational, the total will reach 880,000 sq ft (81,765 sqm).

Hall 3 manufactures metal additive manufacturing (AM) systems and AGILITY® co-ordinate measuring machines (CMMs), and houses a multimillion-pound automated storage and retrieval warehousing system. Hall 4 was built as a shell, with its use dependent on demand — and that demand has arrived. Exceptional orders for position encoders from semiconductor equipment manufacturers mean Hall 4 will be partially occupied over the coming months.

Sustainability and workforce investment

The expansion is designed with environmental performance in mind.

The company has also invested in its workforce, with a new employee wellbeing centre that includes a restaurant and fitness suite. The wider development adds landscaped external spaces and a 2 km perimeter walking route.

Confidence in UK operations

Jim Long, Director of Group Manufacturing, said:

“Our long-term commitment to manufacturing is exemplified by the investment that we have made in Miskin over the past 15 years and I would like to thank the many people from across our business who have supported the development of this world-class facility.”

He concluded:

“The significant ongoing investment by our Board to increase our production capabilities demonstrates a huge vote of confidence in our manufacturing operations and people, at an exciting time for the business.”