Cooke & Arkwright

Santon switches to Phoenix Park

24/10/2011

Santon Switchgear has moved its UK headquarters to Phoenix Park in Newport, to premises two-and-a-half times larger than its former location in Waterside Court.  The company specialises in low voltage switchgear technology and has invested a substantial sum in the new site on refurbishment, technology, services and offices, to be in a position to take advantage of new market developments, including in the solar photovoltaic industry, and for future expansion.  Cooke & Arkwright acted for the landlord, the Welsh Government in the deal.

“We were in our previous premises for 12 years and had outgrown them,” said Huw Wigmore, Managing Director of Santon Switchgear.  “We needed a site that was large enough to see us through the next 12 years and to accommodate growth over that period.  These premises provide the space we need, they are modern and secure and ideally located for our staff, all of whom live locally.”

Phoenix Park was competed in 2008 and comprises 45 purpose-built industrial units totalling 43,000 sq ft.  It was a joint venture between the Welsh Government and Centre for Business.

Jeremy Symons of Cooke & Arkwright said, “It is very satisfying to see a company continue to expand in the current climate and it is a reflection of the hard work of the team at Santon.  I am very confident that they will move from strength to strength in their new premises at Phoenix Park, an increasingly popular location in Newport.”

Santon Switchgear is Europe’s leading supplier of safety switchgear technology and runs its own production plant and research & development department in the Netherlands.  The company employs 12 staff in Newport and has taken on an additional sales person.  Expansion in the future is expected to create further employment opportunities.

“We are pleased with the way the company has been holding its own in what has obviously been a difficult climate during the last few years.  We made the decision to invest now so that we are well placed to capitalise on emerging markets in our sector,” said Mr Wigmore.  “This investment was funded internally and not by the banks,” he added.

One of the newest developments, the Firefighter Safety Switch, is anticipated to become critically important to the solar photovoltaic industry in future.  Photovoltaic panels, for which installations in both private and commercial premises have grown enormously in recent years, generate direct current (DC) and when they fail, can produce highly dangerous arc flames.  When fire hits a building equipped with these panels, firefighters are in an extremely dangerous situation: if water from their hoses comes into contact with an installation the results can be so catastrophic that sometimes it is safer for them to let a fire burn than try to tackle it.  Santon Switchgear has developed the critical switch technology to isolate the photovoltaic installations straight away at source so that fires can be tackled more safely.  The potential for this market is expected to be substantial.

The company has also developed switchgear for a range of clients and applications including the steel and quarrying industries, train and traffic tunnels and underground stations, theatres and public buildings, indoor shopping centres and conference and exhibition centres.  The solutions are also used within the maritime and offshore industries where locations can’t be easily reached and the consequences of failure can be severe, and in the defence and energy sectors.

Pictured: Huw Wigmore, Santon Switchgear and Jeremy Symons of Cooke & Arkwright

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