Company invests in centre of excellence for Leeds staff

A company which delivers world-leading technologies and products to enhance people’s lives is investing in a brand new centre of excellence for its factory and office staff in Leeds.

Steeper Group is a commercial business specialising in the fields of prosthetics, orthotics and assistive technology.

Its Leeds base was flooded at Christmas in 2015 and, although work continued, new premises have been found to bring more than 200 staff together under one roof, complementing and supporting the work of the company’s dedicated centres across the country in a multi-million investment.

Sewell Construction has been appointed to complete the new headquarters in a 21-week programme, which runs until July.

Work includes fitting out the existing shell of the building, which is located at Intermezzo Drive close to the M1, alongside creating a manufacturing and customer services area.

A sample room has also been created to enable Steeper teams to choose which materials work best for them.

Paul Steeper, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the company, said: “Our centre of excellence will allow us to gather all staff in one attractive location by consolidating all existing business functions, improve efficiency between manufacturing and office operations, and ultimately deliver the highest levels of service to customers across our orthotic, prosthetic and assistive technology business areas.

“For over 25 years, we have had a strong holding in Leeds, something which we are proud of and intend to continue with.

“The new site offers a flexible and open space that will effectively accommodate our requirements for all group manufacturing and administrative functions.

“Throughout the planning, we have and will continue to work closely with Leeds City Council. We are delighted to thank the council and the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for financially supporting this move with grant assistance, as they recognise the significant impact our work has on the wider community in Leeds and nationwide.”

As a regional company, Sewell has already completed projects for various clients in the West Yorkshire area, including the University of Leeds, Leeds City College and Leeds Beckett University.

After being recommended for creating Steeper Group’s centre of excellence through G&H Building Services, the Sewell team created tailored options to offer best value and a solution which worked best for the business.

Sewell Construction Development Manager Josh Donnelly said: “Right from the start, we worked with the project team to develop the costs and designs together, all done in an open book way to achieve the best possible outcome for Steeper Group.

“That meant we achieved an early start on site and reached the most efficient use of Steeper’s budget.

“The whole team working on this project is locally-based in Leeds and invested in its success, and the scheme is progressing well.

“It’s fantastic to see a company like Steeper investing in the area and it shows great commitment to the city.

“We’re delighted to be working with Steeper on this fantastic project.”