Chesterfield engineering firm completes £4m project to relocate all divisions at new state-of-the-art facility

Engineering supply chain solution provider CBE+ has brought its five divisions together at a new, 100,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Chesterfield.

The company – which employs 80 people – had been operating its services from two separate sites since 2017, when business owners Marie Cooper and Chris Brown acquired the five legacy businesses which make up CBE+.

CBE+ ENP – formerly Nitec UK – is the final company division to move its operations to the CBE+ headquarters at Williamthorpe Industrial Park, Holmewood.

Five plating lines, blasting and heat treatment capabilities have now been installed on site. The £4m project is a major milestone for the business, realising their vision of housing multiple capabilities under one roof and helping them work towards net zero carbon emissions.

CEO Marie Cooper said: “Chesterfield has proved to be a fantastic home for our business, and our latest milestone is something we are proud of – along with our plans to continue this growth journey, supporting our customers and the local economy. It was fantastic to welcome over 40 people to look around our facility, and show how we support our customers.”

CBE+ technical director, Chris Brown, added: “The goal has always been to have all our services under one roof. Not only does this create one cohesive team, but it also makes it easier for our customers to access multiple services. Moving five engineering businesses onto a single site has been a five-year project, with a lot of people working together to make it happen, and I can’t thank the team enough for their hard work.

“Relocating our ENP division is the final piece in the jigsaw that will allow us to deliver capabilities beyond engineering from a single location, providing our customers with streamlined, stress-free supply chains. The addition of the new combined heat and power and effluent systems is an exciting step on our journey to becoming a greener business, by significantly reducing the amount of waste and energy used on site.”

The site’s combined heat and power system captures the heat generated as a by-product of electrical power generation, and uses it to power the surface treatment processes carried out in areas of the factory.

In addition, a new effluent plant has been installed which filters and neutralises all waste chemistry generated on site – allowing for environmentally safe disposal and recycling.

These energy-saving initiatives, coupled with the move to their new site, have allowed CBE+ to reduce its carbon footprint by more than 50%.

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CBE+ was formed from the acquisition of BG Engineering in 2017 by Marie Cooper and Chris Brown. This acquisition was shortly followed by electroless nickel plating business Nitec UK Ltd and Spire Laboratories in 2017, then Pentag Gears and Oilfield Equipment in 2018. The Wire EDM facility was acquired in 2021.

Following a full business integration, the group rebranded as CBE+ in 2019, providing multidisciplinary engineering services to manufacturers in markets including the aerospace, defence, automotive, oil and gas industries.