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A South Yorkshire machine knife manufacturer is expanding, with a new factory that enables it to increase capacity and improve productivity.

Fernite of Sheffield has bought a 33,000 sq ft warehouse in Orgreave which it is to redevelop ahead of relocating its 48-strong workforce from its existing site in Darnall.

The business, which has a wide customer base of leading companies serving the food manufacturing, packaging, paper, plastics, agricultural and chemical sectors, develops tailor-made and standard machine knife products.

Over the next six months, Fernite will build the bespoke facility, which in turn will increase its capacity to deliver high specification products to suit customer needs.

The company exports around 40 per cent of its products to Europe, North and South America and expects to increase turnover significantly in the coming years.

James Kitching, managing director, said: “Our goal as a business is to be the best machine knife company in the world and in order to do that, we needed a bigger and more suitable space.

“A key benefit of the new factory is that we’ll be able to host our customers there so we can work ever more closely with them to develop tailored solutions for their cutting needs, while the increased space will also allow us to optimise production to provide the best service.

"Very importantly, we want the factory to be somewhere our staff are proud of and enjoy working at. This will help us to recruit the best talent in the region."