CRL of Europe to build new headquarters facility in Rochdale, England

C.R. Laurence of Europe, Ltd., is expanding its European operation with the construction of a new headquarters, office and warehouse buildingat Rochdale’s Kingsway Business Park, located in a prime industrial/commercial area near Manchester, England, according to anOct. 15 release.The ground breakingfor the71,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to take place Oct. 26. Earlier this year, CRL acquired Rochdale-based Ebor, a supplier of accessories, tools and machinery to the glazing and stone industries throughout the United Kingdom.

In making the announcement, Donald E. Friese, CEO of CRL, said, “We see the acquisition of Ebor and the construction of this new headquarters as the official launch of our European strategy. This new facility will act as the European headquarters for CRL Europe, and will be responsible for that operation, as well as our expanded CRL operation in Germany, where we recently purchased and updated a 36,000-square-foot facility in the Stuttgart area.”

Approximately a dozen new jobs at CRL will be created in the first year, four of which have already been established, ranging from warehousing to technical sales with the capacity to take on many more people as the business expands within the European market, according to the release. The former Ebor premises at Gorrels Way in Rochdale, withmore than37,700 square feet of space and 55employees, will also be retained with the majority of staff relocating to Kingsway Business Park when construction of the premises completes next summer.

The new headquarters facility in Kingsway will incorporate CRL’s state-of-the-art shipping equipment and information technology systems used throughout the company, worldwide, to manage the 50,000 item product line. The facility will accommodate a large inventory, providing customers with ready access to the products and supplies they need.

In addition, a very large Trade Counter will allow customers to pick up orders on site, view the wide assortment of catalogs and meet with technical advisors. Computers will be available for customers to use for online ordering or order checking, and also to demonstrate CRL’s online programs: “Showers Online,” “Handrails Online,” and Storefronts Online.” The Trade Counter will also include a showroom display area where customers can see many of CRL’s newest products, including full-size working models of the company’s architectural hardware products, shower door hardware, railing systems, transaction hardware and the stone division’s CaesarStone products.