Representatives from Boston Borough Council have had the opportunity to visit Metsä Wood after working closely with the business giving advice, support, and confidence that Boston is the right place to invest in an ambitious and exciting multi-million pound project.
Metsä Wood provide the UK with premium-quality wood products for construction, industrial and the retail sector. The team at Metsä Wood made contact with the Council to discuss the investment in the Boston site to create a multi-million pound storage and manufacturing facility, which would give them the capacity to secure further business and create 60 new jobs for the area – to the 288 strong workforce they already employed in Boston.
After encouraging conversations with the Growth teams at the Borough Council, Metsä Wood submitted a planning application for the £3m project in late 2020 – successfully securing planning permission in February 2021.
With the project now taking shape, the team at Metsä Wood invited representatives from Boston Borough Council for a tour of their vast facility, with Councillor Nigel Welton (Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder – Economic Development and Planning), Michelle Sacks (Joint Deputy Chief Executive (Place)), and Clive Gibbon (Economic Development Manager) attending site on July 27 – allowing them to see the exciting new build first-hand and discuss Metsä Wood’s future plans.
The senior team at Metsä Wood, Lee Appleby (UK Operations Director), Tope Olatunde (UK Head of Engineering), and Geoff Wray (Site Operations Manager) were delighted to be able to show the progress that has already been made, expressing their thanks for the support and guidance that the Borough Council had given to get the project underway.
The Metsä Wood team also talked about how important it was to them that they’d been able to further support the local economy, not just through the creation of new jobs, but also by utilising Boston-based engineering expertise and supply chain businesses to bring the project to life.
Discussing future plans, the team reiterated their commitment to further supporting the area as they move forward, with a desire to work with the Borough Council and local education providers to support residents and young people to move into the industry.
Speaking about the impact the project will have locally, Councilor Nigel Welton, said: “It’s brilliant to see this level of commitment from one of our businesses. This is a serious investment that has created so many vital jobs and the commitment to supporting other local business will have no doubt had a ripple effect in creating and sustaining employment across the borough – which is so important after the uncertain year we’ve had due to the pandemic. It’s been great to meet the team, see the progress they’re making on the expansion, and to understand their plans moving forwards.”
Lee Appleby added: “This new opportunity of growth with a strategic partner has been a long time in the making and could not have come to fruition without lots of dedication from the Metsä teams. To finally see our new warehouse facility come to life is amazing and I can’t wait to until it’s full of great products being moved around by our new fully trained local employees. I just want to thank Boston Borough Council for all their support in bringing this opportunity to our Boston site.”
The team from Metsä Wood with representatives from Boston Borough Council (L to R: Clive Gibbon (Economic Development Manager), Geoff Wray (Site Operations Manager), Tope Olatunde (UK Head of Engineering), Councillor Nigel Welton (Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder – Economic Development and Planning), Lee Appleby (UK Operations Director), and Michelle Sacks (Joint Deputy Chief Executive (Place))