Hillington Park anniversary sparks special memories for couple

Earlier this year we appealed for people to come forward with their stories and memories of Hillington Park as part of the Park’s 75th anniversary.

The Park, which opened in 1938, has been home to thousands of workers in the last seven decades, including Kenny McCallum who came forward to share his story with us.

Kenny began working at the Rolls Royce factory in 1962, as a 16-year-old engineer.

In 1963 while on holiday in Northern Ireland, Kenny met Marilyn and after the pair got talking, he was stunned to discover that Marilyn worked in the same factory. A few years later they were married in Paisley and will soon be celebrating 46 years of marriage.

Kenny said: “Rolls Royce was a huge employer at that time and most of my family worked at the factory at some point in their lives. Everyone would help each other and the company held Christmas parties as well as an annual Gala Day. We were all very proud to be part of Hillington Park especially due to its wartime connections.

“Although Marilyn and I worked in the same factory it employed thousands of people so we didn’t actually know each other until we met on holiday. Hillington Park obviously holds a special place in our hearts even after all these years.”

Marilyn from Paisley added: “It was a great place to work and we always told our sons about our time at Rolls Royce and how we met. Now our three grandchildren want to know all about it.”

To get in touch with your memory, story or photograph contact hillington75@mepc.com or call 0141 883 5760.

Merlin Business Centre proving a hit with small businesses

The addition of 18 open plan offices to its top floor, and informal networking space on all levels, has been a huge hit with new and existing tenants alike.

In the last two months, Merlin Business Centre has welcomed Xerox Property Services Ltd and RCM Worldwide Trading. KSD Support Services and Equip 4 Work have expanded within the Business Centre.

A competition to name Merlin’s two meeting rooms was also carried out with the winner receiving a hamper of delicious Fairtrade chocolate.

The winning entries were ‘Spitfire’ and ‘Griffon’, and the lucky winners were Alastair Crawford (I-Konic) and David Taylor (Johnson Construction) pictured.

“We are delighted with the feedback on the improvements to Merlin Business Centre,” says Alison Clark, MEPC Marketing and Customer Manager. “There is a real community spirit within Merlin and that’s been further enhanced with the new facilities we’ve added. We are thrilled to welcome new businesses to Merlin and we hope that they, like so many of our tenants, find the business centre is the perfect place for them to grow their business.”

The new suites range in size from 205 sq ft to accommodate two to three people, to a larger 786 sq ft which can be used for up to eight people.

The business centre, now home to almost 40 small businesses, is in a sought after location within Hillington Park due to its prominent position and easy access to the M8 motorway.

Business Park Glasgow

In recent months Jamie Cumming was appointed by MEPC as Commercial Director of Hillington Park, and responsible for the MEPC team delivering the new plans here over the coming years.

Based on feedback from occupiers and experience across the UK, MEPC is working on plans to invest in projects across Hillington Park.

We asked Jamie about MEPC’s plans and vision for the future of the Park.

You’ve been at Hillington Park for a few months now; what has been the most striking thing you have seen since you arrived?

I would have to say the sheer scale of the Park and the diversity of our occupier community. There is a buzz of activity throughout the working day, companies are busy designing, developing, manufacturing, selling and delivering: it’s a key commercial centre. I have also been very impressed with the knowledge and commitment of our customer team who collectively have over 50 years of experience managing Hillington Park. Their tireless work has been one of the biggest positives I’ve encountered so far.

Everyone who works at Hillington Park knows that it is a big place with lots going on but can you give us an idea of just how big it actually is?

There are 6,500 people employed on the Park in 350 different organisations, representing a range of sectors including food and drink, manufacturing, renewables, technology and construction. We are Scotland’s largest business park at over 400 acres in size with a total of 3m sq ft of lettable floor space, so I can safely say we are big! In fact, if you placed Hillington Park on top of Glasgow City centre it would be the same footprint, so that gives you an idea of our size.

Project Hillington sounds very exciting, what will it mean for those companies already based here?
Our main objective is to create a modern business park environment which companies based here can benefit from, a place where they want to grow their business and where employees enjoy working. Ensuring this environment is in place will not only benefit the businesses already on the Park, but those who are looking to join us. Project Hillington will consider improvements to the services and amenities, upgrade to the landscaping, signage, as well as making continued improvements to the Park’s customer care.

And what about companies who aren’t here yet? What things will appeal to them?

We hope that everything we are implementing through Project Hillington will appeal to businesses that are looking for a new location. We have an impressive range of business accommodation for all types of organisations, and we manage that space with a dedicated site team who are very experienced in what they do. Companies base themselves at Hillington Park because of the range of property options and its location. We are two minutes from the M8, we are serviced by two railway stations and are two miles from Glasgow International Airport, so our location and transport links are clear selling points.

We also strive and, are successful in, building relationships with our occupiers so that we understand their business needs and react as their businesses grow and develop. We have several examples of companies that started out on the Park in one small office and after considerable growth now occupy several suites.

We are also working hard to deliver the next phase of new business space at the Park and we have the land and resource to build bespoke units for almost any type of organisation.

It’s 75 years since Hillington ‘opened for business’ and in that time the Park has become one of the most recognised and successful business locations in Scotland.

What do you think the next 75 years hold for Hillington Park?

Hillington Park has enjoyed a very successful past and has made a major contribution to the economy of not only Renfrewshire and Glasgow, but the whole of Scotland, over the past 75 years. A contribution that we are all very proud of.

Many of the people who work at this Park will have friends and family who worked at companies such as Rolls Royce and Remington and although these companies have moved away, the Park has continued to expand and prosper.

The fundamentals of Hillington Park, such as the transport links, location and density of the skilled workforce, will mean there will always be a demand for business space here. How we do business is changing fast, and we need to ensure we continue to provide the space and services that companies need. Employees also demand more from their working environment than they used to, and we want to make sure we create an attractive Park that people will enjoy coming to every day.

Gordon Leslie is riding high with new deal

A Hillington Park freight, distribution and warehousing company has recently secured customs approval for its warehouse which will save new and existing clients hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Gordon Leslie Group’s warehouse was named an A-list bonded site which means it can attract even more international customers, as clients will only pay duty and VAT on goods they store with Gordon Leslie after the products are removed from the bonded warehouse.

This means the company’s warehouse is effectively a duty-free zone and is now qualified to hold items for up to four years.

After securing this approval, Gordon Leslie Group, which has two sites on the Park, won a contract to store 5000 bikes for manufacturer 2x2.

This contract, in partnership with another business on the Park, is a major coup for the company and could have a significant impact on the business’ future growth.

The warehouse approval comes after last year’s successful submission for the external storage of wind turbines making the Gordon Leslie sit at Hillington Park one of the few outside bonded facilities in the country.

Craig Leslie, Managing Director, Gordon Leslie Group said: “Our bonded warehousing facility is important for us and our future. Our location, so close to the airport and motorways, as well as our fleet of trucks, has helped us to cement our position as a leading company in our industry, and this new development will strengthen this.

“We have also installed new racking which has enabled us to make more use of our space and fully utilise our 200,000 square feet of internal and external state of the art storage which is spread across our two sites, and recently we have also began onsite export crating. We believe that our ability to combine storage, crating and export services places us in a unique position above our competitors, as we offer clients the simplicity of one supplier for all requirements.”

Founded in 1970 and now in second-generation family management, the Gordon Leslie Group is a major provider of logistics solutions throughout the UK and the world. For over 40 years, the last seven based at Hillington Park, Gordon Leslie has developed into a leading provider of worldwide freight, UK distribution and warehousing.

Innovation Centre based company wins major water IT contract

A Hillington Park IT company has won a significant six-figure multi-year contract with the organisation that administers the market for water and wastewater retail services in Scotland.

Bridgeall, based in the Innovation Centre, began work with Central Market Agency Ltd (CMA) earlier this year and now operates and provides testing services for the IT systems that help CMA calculate bills.

The CMA is owned by its members which includes Scottish Water, Business Stream, Thames Water Commercial Services and Anglian Water Business.

Bridgeall, which specialises in technology consulting and software development, developed and built the organisation’s central systems calculation service for the newly competitive Scottish water market five years ago.

The company, which employs 20 people, also works with Heineken, Scottish Power and North Lanarkshire council, which has seen it propel to a leading position in the IT industry in Scotland.

Stephen Beer, Managing Director of Bridgeall said: “We are delighted to have secured this contract. We have developed an excellent working relationship with the CMA over the last five years and our experience of developing, building and testing this IT system means we have a thorough understanding of the complex processes required to work out hundreds of thousands of bills.

“At Bridgeall we pride ourselves on building relationships with clients and with our success in the Scottish deregulated water market, we welcome the opportunity to provide similar skills and expertise to emerging markets in the UK and beyond.”

Based in the Innovation Centre since 2003, Bridgeall has discovered that it is the perfect base for clients and staff alike and has assisted the company in its substantial growth over the last ten years.

Dave Kerr, Director, Bridgeall added: “The Innovation Centre has given us the platform to create and grow two businesses since we arrived. We sold one arm of the business, which was specifically created for the public library sector, back in 2011 to Baker & Taylor, and we are now focussing on rapidly growing the original business with a focus on mobile, collaboration and cloud solutions. The flexibility of the lease agreements, access to experts in business development and close proximity to likeminded people all played a part in our decision to locate here.”

“Bridgeall is a great example of a business on the Park that is growing and leading the way in its industry,” says Jamie Cumming, Commercial Director, Hillington Park. “Since Bridgeall has been based at the Innovation Centre it is has continued to grow and win large, coveted contracts, and we congratulate the team on this achievement.”