Bought-in fabrication for a manufacturing town
The St Neots Masterplan puts manufacturing at 15% of jobs in the town and over 26% of the gross value added it generates. The industry is spread across light industrial estates on the Eaton Socon side and along Barford Road, and the gas turbine power station at Little Barford sits on the town's edge. That is a lot of plant, and plant needs steel that its owners seldom make themselves.
For firms like those we are a bought-in fabrication shop. You send a drawing, we send back an itemised written quote within 24 hours in the working week with the lead time confirmed in writing, and invoices go against your purchase order. We make steel for commercial and trade buyers; domestic work and container homes are outside what we do, and your own installer fits whatever leaves the yard.
Who in St Neots buys steel and containers
- Precision and component makers Precision component makers buy in guards, machine bases, trolleys and frames from a fabricator rather than tie up their own welders on structural work, and reorder the same pieces as batches.
- Power and utility contractors Little Barford's gas turbine power station sits on the edge of town. Contractors in the energy trade order skids, enclosures, walkways and handrails made to drawing, supplied for their own installers.
- Distribution and haulage firms H&M Distribution opened a purpose-built St Neots depot, and operators like it order yard stores, cabins and loading-area steelwork, often as modified containers cut with doors and shutters.
- New business park occupiers Marston Business Park on Marston Road has units from 5,145 to 43,035 sq ft, and tenants fitting out new space need access steel and plant frames.
Larger orders that suit St Neots plant and depots
Energy and manufacturing buyers in a town like St Neots order housings and frames in volume. Examples are skids for pumps or generators, enclosures with louvres and cable entries cut to drawing, machine bases for light industrial lines, lifting frames, and walkways with handrails round plant. Container orders for depots are usually several units to one specification. Material is structural carbon steel finished in primer, wet spray, powder coat or hot-dip galvanising. Stainless and aluminium parts are TIG welded by coded welders in a separate area.
Containers modified for St Neots depots and yards
St Neots depots and yards use containers for secure storage, workshops and plant rooms, and we modify them to drawing. That covers structural openings framed into the rails, doors, windows and roller shutters, plus linking, stacking, cut-downs, repairs and repaints. You can supply the unit or we source one. Capacity is around eight units a week, and recent units were about £3,400 to £6,800 each net of VAT. See container modifications.
Putting a modified container on a St Neots yard as a store, workshop or plant room may need planning permission, depending on its use, size, position and how long it stays. Huntingdonshire District Council is the planning authority for the town, and its planning pages are at huntingdonshire.gov.uk. Ask the council before you order. The site owner or tenant makes the application, not us.
Skids, bases and enclosures for local manufacturers
The larger fabrication orders St Neots firms place are skids, machine bases, lifting frames, and enclosures for generators, plant and switchgear. Our coded welders cover MIG, TIG and MMA, with stainless and aluminium TIG done in a separate area, and plasma cutting and bending are in-house. BS EN 1090 control means structural steelwork can carry UKCA or CE marking, and finishes include galvanising we arrange. See commercial steel fabrication.
Marston Road, Eaton Socon and Harley Industrial Park
Marston Business Park on Marston Road in St Neots (unconnected to our Marston Moretaine) is a new scheme within the Oxford Cambridge Arc. Harley Industrial Park and Generation Business Park are other local sites, and across the river at Eaton Socon, Howard Road and Steel Close are established industrial estates near the A1 junction with the A428. We can deliver from our yard to any of them.
Why a Bedford workshop can cost St Neots 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 St Neots 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 St Neots
Our deliveries to St Neots leave Marston Moretaine and cover 22 road miles, about 37 minutes by car, using the A421 and A603. A loaded lorry takes longer. We organise the run through our logistics partners, with the day agreed with you once the lead time is in writing. Since the work is made in-house, the price often works out cheaper than local fabricators. Send the unit count and weights with the enquiry.
Our engineers can visit your St Neots site to see the job and measure up. Before delivery, tell us the gate width, the turning space for an articulated trailer and any slot the landlord requires. Let us know what lifting is available on site for containers and heavy frames, and we agree the drop with you. Your installer positions and fits them once they are there.
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
Is your Marston the same as Marston Business Park in St Neots?
No. Our workshop is at Moreteyne Farm, Marston Moretaine, MK43 0NY, just off the A421 between Bedford and Milton Keynes. Marston Business Park is a separate St Neots scheme on Marston Road.
Can St Neots companies get a quote for a one-off frame?
Yes, though our focus is larger fabrication and container work. Send the drawing and we will price it. Small one-off jobs are taken in passing, usually alongside a bigger order.
Do you work with stainless or aluminium?
Yes. Coded TIG welding on stainless steel and aluminium is done in its own area, kept apart from carbon steel. Mention the material in the enquiry and the quote will list it separately.
Does a container on a St Neots site need planning permission?
It can, depending on use, size, position and duration. Huntingdonshire District Council decides, and the site owner or tenant applies. We can supply dimensions and drawings of the modified unit to go with the application.
Will you deliver to our St Neots site?
Yes. We are based at Marston Moretaine, 22 road miles and about 37 minutes away by car on the A421 and A603. Our engineers visit to measure up, and we organise delivery of containers and steelwork to your site. Phone Daniel Thomas on 07365 129991 to arrange it.
Nearby areas
We also quote for firms in Huntingdon, Bedford, Cambridge, Wellingborough and Peterborough. See every town on the areas we serve page.