Renishaw celebrates 15 years at Miskin and completion of first-phase development
This year, Renishaw is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the purchase of its Miskin site in South Wales, and the completion of the first phase of a further £70 million development of the facility. Announced in 2022, this investment will ultimately double the size of the Miskin site, giving the company space to expand manufacturing capacity to meet rising demand for its world-leading precision metrology, additive manufacturing and position measurement products.
Renishaw completed the acquisition of the 193-acre site, situated to the west of Cardiff, from Robert Bosch Ltd in September 2011. It started with modest operations and at the time of the formal opening of the facility in October 2012 by then First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones (now Lord Jones), employee numbers were around 25, compared to around 950 today. Following the completion of the first development phase (Hall 3), usable space has grown to 617,000 sq ft (57,350 sqm) and will total 880,000 sq ft (81,765 sqm) once Hall 4 is completed and operational, establishing the Miskin facility as one of the UK's largest advanced manufacturing sites.
Renishaw has continued to invest throughout its tenure, with around £150 million spent to date on acquiring the site, refurbishing legacy buildings, developing the new halls, and installing advanced manufacturing equipment. The latter currently includes 134 CNC machine tools producing around one million parts per month, three PCB assembly lines, robotic assembly and automated warehousing, with more equipment on order to support customer requirements.
Manufacturing capacity to support future growth
The latest phase of development demonstrates Renishaw's long-term confidence in the UK and its commitment to creating highly skilled jobs and supporting economic growth for years to come.
Hall 3 is used to manufacture Renishaw's metal additive manufacturing (AM) systems, AGILITY® co-ordinate measuring machines (CMMs) and also houses a multimillion-pound automated storage and retrieval warehousing system. Hall 4 was constructed as a shell building, with its future utilisation dependent on sales demand and capacity requirements. Due to exceptional demand for Renishaw's position encoders from manufacturers of semiconductor equipment, driven by the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), some of that additional capacity is now required, and Hall 4 will be partially occupied over the coming months.
A focus on sustainability and people
Beyond increasing manufacturing capacity, the development of the new halls has been designed to deliver long-term operational and environmental benefits, supporting Renishaw's wider commitment to achieving Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions across Scopes 1 and 2 by 2028. The company's long-term ambition is for all buildings at the Miskin site to operate at Net Zero, and both new halls have been designed to achieve Net Zero Carbon in Operation.
Alongside the manufacturing expansion, Renishaw has also invested in a new employee wellbeing centre, which includes a spacious restaurant and fitness suite. The wider development has also enhanced the site's outdoor environment, including a range of landscaped external spaces, picnic areas and a 2 km perimeter walking route designed to encourage outdoor activity and wellbeing.
Commitment to the future
The expansion of the Miskin site represents a major long-term investment in UK manufacturing, sustainability and skills development. It reinforces Renishaw's commitment to South Wales and the UK while providing a modern, low-carbon manufacturing environment that showcases the best of British engineering.
Jim Long, Director of Group Manufacturing, said, “Our long-term commitment to manufacturing is exemplified by the investment that we have made in Miskin over the past 15 years and I would like to thank the many people from across our business who have supported the development of this world-class facility.”
He concluded, “The significant ongoing investment by our Board to increase our production capabilities demonstrates a huge vote of confidence in our manufacturing operations and people, at an exciting time for the business.”
