Tube works, depots and a lot of sheds
Corby still makes steel products, which suits a fabricator. Tata Steel Tubes is on the town's list of major employers beside RS Components, Avon, Roquette and RCS Logistics, and Europa Warehouse runs a Corby operation with more than 170 staff on e-commerce fulfilment, inventory and packing. A new logistics warehouse has been approved on the former Weetabix factory site at Earlstrees, so the count of sheds keeps rising.
Growth in sheds brings steady demand for the steel around them: plant enclosures, yard stores, platforms and frames. We cover that from a 12,000 sq ft workshop at Marston Moretaine with coded MIG, TIG and MMA welders. Your drawing gets an itemised written quote within 24 hours in the working week, and the lead time is confirmed in writing. Invoices run against your purchase order. We deal with commercial and trade buyers only.
Corby buyers and what they send out
- Metal and tube processors Firms around Tata Steel Tubes handle long, heavy stock and order handling frames, racking, lifting frames and guarded walkways, usually raw or primed, sometimes hot-dip galvanised.
- Logistics and fulfilment operators Depots such as Europa's Corby operation need dock canopies, bollards, mezzanine stairs and secure storage boxes on the yard, often ordered as a matching batch.
- Food and process plants Roquette and other process sites order stainless and aluminium platforms, guards and enclosures. Coded TIG welders work these metals apart from carbon steel.
- Developers and contractors at new parks Builders on schemes such as Centrix, a 39-acre site, order site stores, welfare containers, steel canopies and fire escapes, finished to the scheme's RAL colours and delivered to site.
Bigger orders from Corby's yards
Large orders here tend to be a run of matching items. That might be ten containers converted with the same door and shutter layout for a depot, 30 identical frames or handling cradles for a stock yard, or generator and battery enclosures for a new unit. Structural parts are made under BS EN 1090 control and can be supplied UKCA or CE marked. Staged payments suit multi-unit orders, and invoices run against your purchase order.
Container work for Corby depots and plots
Capacity is around 8 units a week, so a depot order of six to twelve units fits one or two weeks of production. We frame structural openings into the rails, fit doors, windows and roller shutters, link or stack units, and repair and repaint. Units can be yours or we source them. Recent builds have cost about £3,400 to £6,800 each net of VAT depending on scope. See structural container modifications.
A container placed on a Corby site may need planning permission, depending on position, duration and use. North Northamptonshire Council took over from Corby Borough Council and is now the planning authority, so its planning team is the one to ask. Get the answer in writing before ordering. We supply the converted unit and do not submit planning applications.
Fabrication for Corby plant and sheds
On the steel side we make frames, skids, machine bases and lifting frames, steel enclosures for plant and switchgear, and supply-only stairs, fire escapes, walkways and handrails. We plasma cut and bend in-house and buy in laser-cut parts through suppliers. Coded welders cover MIG, TIG and MMA, and structural work runs under BS EN 1090 control. Finishes are raw, primed, RAL wet spray, powder coat or hot-dip galvanising, which we arrange. See commercial steel fabrication.
Corby's estates, from Earlstrees to Weldon
Earlstrees Industrial Estate sits off the A6116 and the A427, with Raven Park among its units. Weldon North Industrial Estate carries Corbygate Business Park, on a five-acre site at the corner of Steel Road and Prior Haws Road. Centrix Business Park is a 39-acre development with industrial and warehouse buildings up to 260,000 sq ft. The A6, A45 and A6116 are the roads that link them for a lorry leaving our yard.
Why a Bedford workshop can cost Corby 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 Corby 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 Corby
Corby is 43 road miles from Marston Moretaine, about 61 minutes by car, using the A6, the A45 and the A6116. Drive times are by car, and a loaded lorry takes longer. We organise delivery through our logistics partners and agree the day with you ahead of loading. With the work made in-house, our price often comes in under local fabricators.
Our engineers visit the Corby site to see the job. Large sheds usually mean good lorry access, but tell us the gate width, the turning room and the ground under a loaded container. Say what lifting there is on site and we agree the drop with you. Your own installer positions and fixes the unit or steelwork. We supply fabricated steel and converted containers to drawing and do not install on site.
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 Corby depots order matching containers in batches?
Yes. Capacity is around 8 units a week, with up to 12 in a peak week, and each unit is itemised on the quote. Staged payment can be agreed on multi-unit orders.
Do you deliver to Corby?
Yes. At 43 road miles and about 61 minutes by car it is within the area we quote for. Our engineers visit to measure up, and we organise delivery to your site.
Can you make handling frames for long tube or bar stock?
Yes, frames and cradles to your drawing, in lengths and loads that suit the stock. Say what the item must carry, and the quote states the steel section and finish.
Does a container on an Earlstrees yard need permission?
It can. North Northamptonshire Council decides, and the answer depends on the container's position, how long it stays and what it is used for. Ask first and keep the reply.
Nearby areas
We also quote for firms in Kettering, Wellingborough, Northampton and Peterborough. See every town on the areas we serve page.