Twenty-five thousand jobs in making things
Visit Leicester counts 25,121 engineering and manufacturing jobs across the city and county. The city has long been a plastics, rubber and metal-forming centre: Nylacast is a Leicester-headquartered engineering firm, and metal forming for aerospace, automotive and defence goes on at Braunstone Frith. East Midlands Airport and the M1 add a logistics sector on top of the factories. That mix of plant types produces steady demand for frames, platforms and guarding made from drawings.
Firms like these run on drawings, batch quantities and repeat orders, which is the way we work. You send a drawing, we send an itemised written quote within 24 hours in the working week, and we confirm the lead time in writing before you commit. Welding is by coded welders, and structural items are made under BS EN 1090 control. Commercial and trade only, with invoices against your PO.
Leicester industries that order from a fabricator
- Plastics, rubber and engineering plastics Moulding and extrusion plants buy machine bases, mould-handling frames, guarding, mezzanine and platform steel, made to drawing and finished in primer or RAL wet spray.
- Metal forming and aerospace suppliers Firms serving aerospace, automotive and defence order fixtures, frames and enclosures. Stainless and aluminium parts are welded by coded welders in a separate area from carbon steel.
- Food, packaging and converting plants Food, packaging and converting plants in older factory buildings need new access stairs, walkways, handrails and equipment frames, supplied to fit by the customer's own contractor.
- Distribution and airport-side logistics Operators along the M1 corridor and near the airport order canopy frames, yard stores, cage frames and modified containers for stores, welfare and plant.
The bigger jobs a Leicester plant sends out
Batches and larger assemblies are the orders that make the most sense to build in Bedford and deliver to Leicester. A moulding or extrusion plant might need ten machine bases and a set of platforms with handrail. A factory refurbishing an old building might ask for a new stair core, a run of walkway sections and a mezzanine frame. A subcontract engineer might want a batch of fixtures in two finishes. Plasma cutting and bending are in-house, laser-cut parts come from suppliers, and powder coat, wet spray and hot-dip galvanising are arranged by us.
Container work for Leicestershire yards
Along the M1 corridor, depots and building sites use containers as stores, workshops and welfare units. We frame structural openings into the rails, fit doors, windows and roller shutters, link or stack units, and do cut-downs, repairs and repaints. You can supply the units or we source them. A multi-unit order can be built in sequence at around 8 units a week and paid in stages. See container modifications.
Frames, enclosures and stairs for Leicester factories
For Leicester factories the useful range runs from structural steel under BS EN 1090 factory production control, supplied UKCA or CE marked, to enclosures for generators, acoustic plant and switchgear. We also fabricate skids, machine bases, lifting frames, and supply-only stairs, fire escapes, walkways and handrails. Stainless and aluminium work is done by coded welders. See steel staircases and fire escapes for supply-only stair work.
Troon, Hamilton, Blackbird and Wigston
Troon Industrial Area on the north side runs into Hamilton Industrial Park, which fronts Waterside Road. Blackbird Industrial Park is a low-carbon scheme the city council is building on a former housing depot about 1.4 km north-west of the centre. Wigston Business Park allows design and build units up to 219,000 sq ft, Westleigh Business Park sits at the Blaby bypass, and Bardon Business Park and Grove Park are further out.
Why a Bedford workshop can cost Leicester 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 Leicester 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 Leicester
Leicester is 59 road miles from Marston Moretaine, about 72 minutes by car, mostly on the M1. We organise delivery of the finished work to your site through our logistics partners. A loaded lorry takes longer, and roadworks on the M1 can add to it, so the day and time are agreed with you ahead of dispatch. Because every stage happens in our own workshop, the overall cost often beats local fabricators.
Many Leicester industrial areas have older units with narrow gates, short yards and neighbours' vehicles to work around. Our engineers visit to measure up, so tell them about gate widths, turning space, restrictions and what lifting there is for offloading. We agree the drop with you before delivery. Your installer fits the steelwork. We 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 you make repeat batches for a Leicester plastics or engineering firm?
Yes. Brackets, frames, machine bases and fixtures can run as batches against your PO, with the lead time confirmed in writing and staged payments on multi-unit orders.
Do you deliver to Leicester?
Yes. We are based in Bedford and organise delivery to Leicester sites, 59 road miles and about 72 minutes by car, mostly on the M1. Engineers can visit to see the job first, and we agree the arrival time and offloading with you.
Will you quote on a stair or walkway for an old Leicester factory?
Yes, supply only. Send dimensions or a drawing, the loading it must carry and the finish. We price an itemised written quote within 24 hours in the working week, and your installer fits it.
Do you weld stainless and aluminium as well as mild steel?
Yes. Coded TIG welding on stainless steel and aluminium is done in its own area, kept apart from carbon steel. State the grade and finish in your enquiry so it is priced as a line.
Is a Leicester job ever too small for you?
Larger fabrications, batches and container work suit us best. Single small brackets can be quoted but rarely justify a delivery on their own. Send the drawing and we will tell you plainly which side of the line it falls on.
Nearby areas
We also quote for firms in Loughborough, Hinckley, Lutterworth, Nuneaton, Nottingham and Derby. See every town on the areas we serve page.