RS Clare begins expansion project at its city site, appoints new director

Liverpool, U.K.’s oldest manufacturer is investing in new multi-million pound grease production facilities.
RS Clare’s lubricants business, which dates back to 1748, has started work on a building program at its Stanhope Street site.
Ian Meadows, the fifth generation head of the GBP25 million (USD40 million) turnover firm, said, “Several years of profitable growth have given us the confidence to invest in a state-of-the-art grease manufacturing plant for the coming decades, and phase one, the creation of a new building to house the plant, is about to start.”
The building will have several energy efficiency and cost-saving features, including solar power and ground source energy which will be used for heating and lighting. Costs are expected to exceed GBP1 million (USD1.6 million).
He added, “This phase of the multi-million pound project will be carried out without resort to borrowing, the result of profitable operations in recent years.”
Chairman and CEO Meadows also said he has handed over day-to-day responsibility to the Clare team, headed by Commercial Director Noel Patterson, to devote time to his role as High Sheriff of Merseyside.
He said, “There isn’t a family member with the experience to take our business on to the next plane. In Noel we have an experienced marketer with global experience to head up our export-oriented strategy.”
(August 8, 2013)