Strand Lighting has announced today that its three UK facilities in Kirkcaldy, Cambridge, and London will be consolidated into a new, custom facility outside of London.
The Kirkcaldy factory will be closed down in a phased manner, over a period of up to 18 months. Between now and the end of this year, certain dimming products presently manufactured in Scotland for the European market will be replaced by new products made in Strand manufacturing sites, which are presently undergoing extensive modernization in the US and elsewhere.
The first of these new products, EC21, which features full-density sinewave dimming, will be launched at Showtech in Berlin, following its pre-launch adoption for the Toronto Opera and the Dongguan Opera.
In order to best support Strand's growing European business, the new facility will include centralized project planning, customer service, sales, and logistic support for customers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Strand Lighting Group president Tim Burnham commented: "Strand's business is increasing worldwide, with significant projects recently won by Strand Lighting Europe, including the Moscow Stanislawski Theatre, Kuwait TV Studios, Kazan Opera, Republic of Tartarstan, and Bayalsa State Theatre, Nigeria. Strand Lighting is focused on new product development and on improving its service levels wherever we operate. The consolidation of our UK facilities in 2005-2006 will enable the company to continue that growth securely into the future."