With the official opening day of our Warringtonfire Birchwood Park laboratory getting nearer, we hosted two exclusive open days that enabled customers to see the new state-of-the-art fire resistance testing laboratory in person prior to its official opening.
The launch of our new flagship fire facility is now just under one month away. Our $30m, 101,000 square foot facility in Birchwood Park will be in operation from 2 January 2025. Ahead of the launch, over 100 fire safety professionals and customers were given access to the laboratory on 12 and 13 November.
How the sneak previews went
Across four separate sessions over the two days, attendees were shown the magnitude of our new site, which is one of Europe’s largest fire testing laboratories, through a guided tour, along with presentations and a networking event to meet our team of technical experts. Customers were able to preview the cutting-edge fire testing equipment and furnaces, the enhanced capabilities of our new site and the client welfare amenities that our facility offers.
Peter Barker, Technical Policy Manager at Warringtonfire, also gave a briefing on the evolution of Warringtonfire’s services to address the industry’s growing fire resistance testing needs, through a presentation titled ‘Construction Products and the Changing Regulatory Landscape’. He presented how new legislation is shaping the regulatory landscape for construction products, and subsequently influencing conformity assessment activities within the testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) industry.
Commenting on sneak previews, Leigh Hill, Director of the Built Environment Europe division, said: “The Customer Open Days have been a fantastic success. It was a great opportunity for our customers to meet the team and learn more about our operations, and to really showcase the scale and efficiency of the Birchwood Park site.
“In true demonstration of our broad service offering and multidisciplinary expertise, our testing, technical and certification experts provided collaborative answers to customer questions. This is something our clients can continue to benefit from, since the three teams are now located under one roof. This gives us the ability to deliver a streamlined end-to-end process to a higher standard with the latest technology.”
“We are now gradually transitioning our fire resistance team from the Holmesfield Road laboratory to Birchwood Park as we prepare for the launch. We have been able to fill 50 further jobs as part of the expansion, including maintenance engineer, technical officer, and technical assistant positions.”
Customer feedback
We’re delighted to see that the initial attendee feedback following the open days has been extremely positive. Shaun Davidson, Director at SGD Fire Protection Ltd, a passive fire protection specialist, said: “We're incredibly lucky to have such a world-class facility right here in the North West!”.
Meanwhile, Tom Owen, Technical Engineer at Etex, said: “First impressions of the new facility overall are very positive. The sheer scale of the site was impressive, and the layout was very intuitive. I didn’t expect that three tests could run simultaneously and the possible maximum number of tests that can be done is staggering."
Leigh added: “The positive response from customers is very reassuring. We have meticulously designed the new laboratory with clients as the top priority, intentionally incorporating confidential spray booths, each with its own temperature-controlled environment, as well as custom-made steel screens that can be attached to test preparation bays to protect intellectual property. We have also opted for dedicated client viewing areas to ensure privacy and are in the process of trialling additional confidentiality measures to further safeguard sensitive information.
“As part of our new site, we’ve ensured that the laboratory acts not just as a testing site but an environment where meetings can be conducted. This is why we’ve ensured the inclusion of ample amenities for employees and customers. This includes over 175 parking bays and 10 EV charging stations. The site also features accessible welfare facilities like shower and locker rooms, five meeting rooms, three conference rooms, and a lift to platform viewing areas.”
Take a Virtual Tour of Birchwood
We've now made a 360-degree online tour of the new facility available for you to explore. You can use the navigation bar to quickly view key areas and take a detailed walk-through all of the lab spaces, office areas, and welfare facilities.
View our 360-degree online tour
If you visit the site now, you’ll notice a big difference. The photos were taken shortly after handover, so the site has transformed quite a bit since then. However, the tour still gives you a good sense of the scale and layout, making it well worth a virtual walk-around.
For more about our new Birchwood Park fire resistance testing laboratory, please visit our dedicated relocation page.