Nexen Lift Trucks to invest £8.5m expanding factory

Lowestoft-based Nexen Lift Trucks – a leading designer, manufacturer and supplier of forklift trucks and warehouse equipment – has announced an £8.5m investment at its UK-based headquarters and manufacturing facility.

The 48,000 sq. ft. purpose-built extension to the company’s existing 55,000 sq. ft. factory will enable Nexen Lift Trucks to double the output of all models via new production and assembly lines, and see the manufacturer further invest in its state-of-the-art research and development facility.

Nexen Lift Trucks has announced an £8.5m investment at its UK-based headquarters and manufacturing facility / Picture: Nexen Lift Trucks

Nexen Lift Trucks Sales Director, Pamela Oakes, said: “Thanks in part to a thriving e-commerce-based retail market with sales that represented nearly 20% of all retail sales in the UK alone in 2018, demand from logistics specialists and warehousing operators continues to show growth in both the UK and global markets.

“It is therefore vital that we continue to invest heavily in our UK facility to help us maintain current demand while increasing production to focus on growth for Nexen products, including the all-new, multi-directional Ergo sideloader.”

Nexen Lift Trucks currently employs 50 staff at its Lowestoft headquarters and, to help facilitate the doubling of output and an increasing export order book that equates to 70% of its products, the company also expects the planned investment to create 40 opportunities for new engineers, technicians and other staff.

As part of Nexen’s investment and expansion plans, the research, design, development and production of many of the company’s forklifts, sideloaders and warehousing equipment will continue to be undertaken at its headquarters in Lowestoft, rather than those the company owns in other countries. This bucks the recent Brexit-related trend seen across numerous manufacturing sectors and allows Nexen, which has over 40-years’ experience in the materials handling sector, to place the design and production in the hands of some of Britain’s top designers and engineers.

The planned investment will help facilitate the doubling of output for Nexen and create 40 new jobs / Picture: Nexen Lift Trucks