From the Gatehouse Road works to today's trade units
Gatehouse Road was once the site of the New Holland Machine Co.'s agricultural engineering works, and the area still carries metalworking trades: metal finishers at March Place and Gatehouse Close, precision gear makers over at Stoke Mandeville, and estate after estate of small engineering units. Fabrication of that kind is a normal part of the local trade scene, and it is the work we are set up to take on from Aylesbury firms.
The bigger pieces can be hard to fit into a small firm's own workshop. We take drawings for stairs, platforms, machine frames and plant enclosures, return an itemised written quote within 24 hours in the working week, and confirm the lead time in writing. Invoices go against your PO. We do not take domestic work, and your own installer does any fitting once the steel has arrived.
Aylesbury trades that buy in fabricated steel
- Precision engineering firms Makers like Gibbs Gears at Stoke Mandeville, which turns out gears and shafts for aerospace, buy in fixtures, trolleys, machine bases and guards so their own staff stay on production.
- Metal finishing and plating works Finishers around Gatehouse and Rabans Lane handle bulky parts, so they order handling frames, tank stands, racks and walkway steel made to drawing.
- Trade-counter and warehouse tenants Units at Aylesbury Enterprise Park, a ten-unit trade counter and warehouse scheme, take access steel and plant enclosures supplied for their own installers.
- Business park landlords and developers Owners of larger parks such as Crendon Industrial Park, with over 500,000 sq ft, order canopy frames, escape stairs and walkways, finished in RAL paint or galvanised.
Bigger orders for Aylesbury workshops and parks
Small engineering firms around Aylesbury hit the limit of their own bench space quickly. Orders that come to a fabricator from a town like this include machine bases and handling frames for plating lines, tank stands and racks, a staircase and landing for a new mezzanine, canopy frames and escape stairs for a landlord's units, and enclosures for plant in a yard. Items are often repeated, so a first piece is approved and the run follows. Finishes include primer, RAL wet spray, powder coat and hot-dip galvanising.
Containers for Aylesbury yards and sites
Aylesbury's smaller yards use modified containers as stores, plant rooms and site cabins. We frame structural openings into the rails, fit doors, windows and roller shutters, and handle linking, stacking, cut-downs, repairs and repaints. You can supply the unit or have us source one, and several can be run together to one specification. Recent units were about £3,400 to £6,800 each net of VAT depending on scope. See container repairs.
Machine bases, skids and stairs from Marston Moretaine
The bigger Aylesbury orders we handle are machine bases, lifting frames, skids and enclosures for plant and generator equipment, plus supply-only stairs, fire escapes, walkways and handrails. Our coded MIG, TIG and MMA welders do the work, plasma cutting and bending are in-house, and BS EN 1090 control covers structural pieces. Powder coat and hot-dip galvanising are arranged by us. See walkways and railings.
Crendon, Gatehouse and the Aylesbury business parks
Crendon Industrial Park offers over 500,000 sq ft of modern and refurbished space, and Gatehouse Industrial Area sits off Gatehouse Road (A41) within walking distance of the station. Also listed are Park Street Industrial Estate, Bridgegate Business Park, Anglo Business Park, Midshires Business Park and Haddenham Business Park, a former airfield now used for offices and light industrial units. We can deliver from our yard to any of them.
Why a Bedford workshop can cost Aylesbury less
Cutting, welding, finishing and checking all happen in our own 12,000 sq ft workshop, so no stage is passed to a subcontractor with its own margin. Delivery to Aylesbury goes through our logistics partners and shows as its own line on the quote. Put the two together and the total often comes in below a local fabricator, which is easy to check: send us the same drawing you've sent them.
Delivery and site visits in Aylesbury
We organise delivery to Aylesbury through our logistics partners. The run is 27 road miles from Marston Moretaine, about 40 minutes by car using the A4146 and A418, and a loaded lorry takes longer. Tell us the dimensions and weights of the frames or stairs so the right trailer is sent. Everything is fabricated in-house, so our price often comes out lower than a local fabricator's.
Our engineers can visit the Aylesbury unit to measure up. Tell us the weight and height limits on the approach, the gate width and the turning space, and any slot the landlord sets on multi-let parks. Say what forklift or lifting there is, and we agree the drop with you. Your own installer fits the steel.
How a job runs
- 01.Send the drawing
PDF or CAD, a dimensioned sketch, or a photo of the old part. Quantities and the site postcode help.
- 02.Itemised quote in 24 hours
Material, fabrication, finish and haulage broken out line by line, with the lead time confirmed in writing.
- 03.Agree spec and finish
Sections, tolerances, weld spec and finish confirmed before anything is cut.
- 04.Fabricated inside our unit
Cut, welded and assembled by coded welders in our 12,000 sq ft Marston Moretaine workshop.
- 05.Check and paperwork
Dimensionally checked before dispatch; welder qualification and mill certificates on request.
- 06.Delivered to site
We organise delivery to your site through our logistics partners, or you can collect from the yard if that suits. One-offs and batches both welcome.
Work we take on
- Container modifications: conversions and modifications to drawing, single units or batches
- Structural openings: side openings, doors, roller shutters, linking and cut-downs
- Container repairs: panel, door and rail repairs and repaints for depots and fleets
- Steel enclosures: generator, acoustic, plant and battery housings
- Skids and frames: skids, machine bases, lifting frames and supports
- Commercial fabrication: fabrication to drawing, structural steelwork, one-offs and batches
- Stairs and fire escapes: supplied ready for your installer to fit
- Walkways and railings: handrails, platforms and ladders, supplied to fit
Frequently asked questions
Can a small Aylesbury engineering firm use you for overflow work?
Yes. Send the drawing and we will price it line by line. Our focus is larger fabrication and container work, but batch brackets and frames are taken regularly.
Do you deliver to Aylesbury?
Yes. We organise delivery to your site through our logistics partners, 27 road miles via the A4146 and A418, so allow longer for a loaded lorry. You can collect from our yard if you prefer.
Do you also galvanise?
We arrange hot-dip galvanising rather than doing it ourselves. It appears as its own line in the itemised quote, with other finishes such as powder coat and RAL wet spray.
Can you make handling frames and tank stands for a finishing line?
Yes, from a dimensioned drawing. State the loads, the material and any finish needed for wet areas, and the quote shows material, fabrication and coating as separate lines. Stainless can be TIG welded in its own area.
Is a part-built or repeat job acceptable for Aylesbury buyers?
Yes. A first piece can be checked against the drawing, then the batch follows with the lead time confirmed in writing. Multi-unit orders can be paid in stages and invoiced against your PO.
Nearby areas
We also quote for firms in Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable, High Wycombe, Hemel Hempstead, Bicester, Oxford and Reading. See every town on the areas we serve page.