Council thanked after £15m factory approved

Mechanical seal producer Vulcan Engineering, the second largest company in the AES Engineering Ltd group, praised the council’s planning department for helping them navigate the process towards consent for the development.

Progress had stalled for several months but the company says planning permission opens the way for an initial investment at the AMP of £10 million for the land and building, rising to £15 million with equipment, fixtures and fittings.

AES Engineering, whose main global brands are AESSEAL and AVT Reliability, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of mechanical seals, and is headquartered at the Factory for the Future at Mill Close in Rotherham, which is its largest manufacturing facility.

AES engineering director Stephen Shaw says the new factory for Vulcan had been planned for some time but progress was slow, partly due to the group not fully understanding the planning requirements. “As soon as I and my colleagues were able to respond promptly to the planning department, we were extremely pleased with the support, flexibility and timely response,” he said.

Chris Rea, managing director of AES Engineering Ltd, added: “It’s a lesson for us all that mutual understanding makes good planning and good business. We are delighted to get the green light for this additional investment in South Yorkshire, which continues to be the heart of our manufacturing operations.

“I am grateful to both my colleague, Stephen Shaw, and to the planning officers in Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council for providing us with clear direction of what we needed to do to allow the application to proceed.”

Last year the company expanded into Japan and also took on its 2,000th employee. Its goal is to become “the leading global reliability business, delivering solutions to help industry save water, energy, cut pollution and create a better world”.

The AES group also went beyond net zero for the third year in succession with a positive environmental impact equivalent to a forest of 15 million trees.

You can find out more about its commitment to a green future at https://www.aesseal.com/en/about-us/sustainability/