Newcastle manufacturer paves way for growth with Carlisle site

A family-owned Newcastle manufacturer of asphalt, bitumen emulsions and specialist surfacing products has doubled its asphalt production capacity and hired six staff after opening a new facility at Hespin Wood, Carlisle, with support from Lloyds Bank.

Jobling Purser, which produces materials for the highway maintenance sector, has opened the new site to serve firms in Cumbria, Northumberland and southern Scotland.

The multi-million-pound investment includes the purchase of a new Benninghoven asphalt plant, which is capable of producing up to 240 tonnes of mixed product every hour.

The investment was supported by a £1.8 million hire purchase facility from Lloyds Bank, and a £49,500 grant from the Cumbria Growth Fund.

The new plant will operate alongside the firm’s existing manufacturing facilities on Scotswood Road, Newcastle. The North East base is home to the business’s other asphalt plant, which opened in 2012 and helped the company to double its turnover from £8.7 million in 2011 to £17.1 million in 2016.

Jobling Purser now employs 47 people, most of whom live locally and whose average length of service is more than 25 years. The business is family-owned and operated with a history going back to the 1780s.

John McCreary, finance director at Jobling Purser, said: “The new state-of-the-art plant is an excellent opportunity for us to grow our customer base and to build on the success we’ve experienced in the North East.

“The design of the plant offers us high-volume production and flexibility in manufacturing high-quality products, helping us to deliver a first-class service to small and large contractors and to local authorities.

“In 2011, Lloyds Bank won the tender to finance the Newcastle asphalt plant, which led us to moving banks completely. Once again, they had the best deal when we were planning our latest project in Carlisle, as they offered a package that catered for all of our daily banking, term loan and hire purchase needs.

“Our relationship director, Michael Hindhaugh and Keith Bowden genuinely made me feel that they were proud of what we’d achieved as a business, and they also demonstrated an excellent understanding of our requirements throughout the expansion process.”

Keith Bowden, regional manager for hire purchase at Lloyds Bank, said: “With the new site, Jobling Purser can develop on its long history in the highways industry and continue to quickly grow its turnover.

“Hire purchase facilities are a popular way of supporting investments like this, as they offer firms flexibility by spreading the asset cost over an agreed term. We’re committed to helping Britain prosper by raising awareness of all the funding options available for businesses to grow.”