IN 1987 The Princess Royal formally opened a manufacturing facility for pump firm SPP. And she returned to the site recently to help the company celebrate its silver anniversary at the Coleford site.
In the intervening years sales have increased from £15m to £70m in 2011 with an expanding staff reaching 170 employees last year. And it has announced details of a five-year, £9m expansion.
A 22-metre high, £5m test centre will be the tallest building on the industrial estate and house a crane to lift huge pumps in and out of a 15-metre deep pit filled with more than a million litres of water. The final phase will see the old offices replaced by a new three-storey building with conference and training facilities.
SPP operates across 10 sectors including oil and gas, water utilities and fire protection.
