News: Leading engineering group eyes 90,000 sq ft Rotherham building

A Sheffield-based specialist engineering business that delivers world-beating iconic projects looks to be taking on large premises in Rotherham, planning documents show.

Previously known as SCX Special Projects, the Kinetic Solutions Group (KSG) provides bespoke engineered solutions to complex mechanical handling and lifting challenges for customers in the nuclear, defence, aviation and moving architecture sectors.

With its current headquarters close to Meadowhall in Sheffield, planning applications have now been submitted relating to a soon-to-be vacant industrial building in Templeborough, Rotherham.

The applications are for new signage and the installation of new windows at Vector House on Centurion Business Park.

The site was previously home to Newburgh Engineering before it was acquired out of administration in 2019 by Vector X-Cel Ltd. It is part of the X-Cel Group which has been expanding on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham since 2012 and recently secured a £35m funding package from HSBC UK for a manager buyout (MBO).

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The plans state "The site is currently occupied by an engineering company who are relocating to a new facility. The property is to have new owners and the new company (KSG - Kinetic Solutions Group) need to display their own company branding."

In 2021 X-Cel acquired the 90,000 sq ft premises in a £7m deal.

With a market-leading position in the UK, KSG has worked on a number of high profile projects. It designed and built the retractable roofs for Wimbledon’s Centre Court and No. 1 Court. For the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London, it designed and installed the world’s first dividing retractable football pitch.

The group also builds and supports complex mechanical handling solutions for the UK nuclear decommissioning program while, in the aviation sector, it has solved challenges in the lifting and movement of complex engine and airframe structures for Rolls Royce, BAE and Bombardier.

Elysian Capital, a private equity firm based in London, acquired the company through an MBO in 2020 before Denley Hydraulics was added to the group the next year.

The group now operates through four separate business divisions; SCX - Mass Handling Systems, ARX - Kinetic Architecture, ISX Service and Maintenance and DHX Hydraulic systems. Each is distinct in their product/service offering and has their own teams and management structure. This devolved focus allows for targeted growth and profitability strategies within each division.

For the year ending March 2025, the group had a turnover of £35.5m, up from £28.9m in 2024, and EBITDA (earnings before tax) of £4.4m, up from £3.2m in the previous year.

KSG website

Images: X-Cel / KSG

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News: Rotherham building shortlisted for the RIBA Award

The AESSEAL Factory for the Future in Rotherham has been shortlisted for a regional award that celebrates excellence in architecture.

AESSEAL is the fourth largest global manufacturer of mechanical seals and equipment and the latest project has expanded its operations at the global headquarters in Templeborough.

Opening in 2023, the project includes the refurbishment and “greening” of existing plant as well as a state-of-the-art, 60,000 sq ft extension that will almost double the site capacity. It brings the firm’s total investment in Rotherham to over £61m and it is hoped that the global showcase for sustainable manufacturing will lead to an additional £20m of investment in the Rotherham area over the next five to ten years.

The new building reflects AESSEAL’s commitment to creating quality local jobs and ensuring a sustainable future for both the company and the surrounding community. The building is entirely heated by electricity powered by photovoltaics. This has contributed to AESSEAL as a business achieving net zero carbon.

The AESSEAL Factory for the Future by Race Cottam Associates Ltd is one of seven projects that have been shortlisted for the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Yorkshire Awards 2025.

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RIBA Yorkshire Jury Chair Gayle Appleyard, Director of Gagarin Studio said: "The Yorkshire region is home to a wonderful mix of people across cities, towns and rural communities, so it’s encouraging to see such diversity reflected in this year’s shortlist. From the tiny but well crafted pavilion space created for young people within a hospice, to the renovation of a grade I-listed church and a cutting edge factory on a remediated industrial site; it’s brilliant to see the sensitivity and ambition manifest in all these shortlisted projects that evidently create inspiring, sustainable places in which to live, work, learn and play."

A spokesperson for Race Cottom, said: "We are incredibly proud as project architects, involved from conception through to completion, that this project has been recognised by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

"A huge thank you to the team and, of course, AESSEAL for their trust, passion, and commitment to excellence. This recognition belongs to all of us!"

All projects shortlisted for RIBA Awards will be visited by a regional jury, and the winning projects will be announced later this spring.

The winners will then be considered for several RIBA Special Awards, including the RIBA Sustainability Award and RIBA Building of the Year, before being considered for a highly coveted RIBA National Award, which will be announced in summer.

The shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize – the UK’s best new building – will be drawn from the RIBA National Award-winning projects and announced in September. The Stirling Prize winner will be announced in October.

WilkinsonEyre won the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2001 for the transformation of a redundant steelworks in Rotherham to create the UK's first Science Adventure Centre at Magna.

AESSEAL website
Race Cottom website

Images: Race Cottom / AESSEAL

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News: Architects welcome approval for vital community hub for Waverley residents

The award-winning team at Sheffield’s CODA Architecture have welcomed Rotherham Council’s approval for the long-awaited retail development at Waverley.

CODA’s design for Olive Lane - on behalf of Harworth Group plc - which will create a high-quality retail, leisure and community development centred around a pedestrianised high street.

It will include a series of high-quality public realm spaces and gateways designed by PWP Design which will tie in with the wider Waverley development strategy.

And as well as providing a community focus and much-needed facilities, it will also provide a vital link between the growing Waverley residential site near Catcliffe and the neighbouring Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP).

The Olive Lane application, showing a much reduced scheme compared to previous iterations, was approved last month,

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Matt Bowker, director at CODA, said: “Following several years of design development and two planning applications we are happy to confirm that planning has been approved for a mixed used high street located in Waverley.

“Our clients Harworth Group plc set out to deliver further amenities and public realm for the residents of Waverley with the ambitious vision of Olive Lane.

“We are very proud to have been able to play our part in designing the scheme alongside an amazing consultant team.

“Olive Lane is delivering retail, commercial and a medical centre to the local neighbourhood all within 15 minutes of the Waverley residents’ homes and in addition, there will also be 50 new houses directly adjacent to the high street.

"At CODA we love working on projects that create beautiful homes and sustainable neighbourhoods and this certainly feels like one of those special projects.

“We can’t wait to get started on site with Harworth and their development partners to begin delivering this important new phase for Waverley, one of the UK's biggest and best brownfield redevelopments.”

CODA's innovative designs can also be seen at the Sky-House developments at Waverley which uses a modern back-to-back housing concept.

CODA website

Images: CODA

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News: Macalloy spans the globe

Super strength tension rods manufactured by Macalloy in Rotherham have made the pioneering ideas of engineers and designers a reality, as the innovative Troja Bridge opens in the Czech Republic, a structure believed to be the world's largest "network arch."

Based in Dinnington, Macalloy are world leaders in design, manufacture and supply of threaded bar and cable systems to engineering and construction projects across the globe.

The £30m Troja Bridge spans the River Vltava using an innovative network arch method that is dramatically stronger than more traditional bridge designs. The 200m long, 34m wide bridge is now in full operation, carrying a four lane dual carriageway and twin tram tracks along with pedestrian and cycle paths, on what is a key crossing for the important Prague ring road.

Conventional bowstring arch designs use vertical hangers to stiffen the structure but on the Troja Bridge the hangers are arranged diagonally, creating a criss-cross "network." It was built with a welded box section steel arch, prestressed concrete deck, cantilevered steel side platforms and criss-crossed steel hangers that brace the bridge like a steel web.

Macalloy supplied its 520 tension rods system to be used as the bridge hangers. Macalloy also designed a unique fatigue resistant thread form for the project which was tested in accordance with high standards for fatigue connections in bridges. The steel tension rods were tensioned using Macalloy's Techno-Tensioner device – a device that enables on-site stressing of tension rods using a turnbuckle connection.

Mott MacDonald's innovative design has reduced the height of the bridge by 60% – from 50m to 20m at its highest point, and the lower, shorter arch and shorter hangers offered potential materials savings of 40%.

Radko Bucek, managing director for the Czech Republic at Mott MacDonald, said: "Troja Bridge represents a major step forward in structural efficiency. By reconfiguring the hangers of the classic bowstring arch from a conventional vertical arrangement to a diagonal one, we have dramatically improved the bridge's performance."

Macalloy products are exported around the world and used in a wide variety of construction projects including the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, the $5.5bn Marina Bay Sands development in Singapore and the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg and the Olympia Stadion in Berlin, both of which have hosted the World Cup final.

Macalloy website

Images: Mott MacDonald

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News: Rotherham buildings recognised in awards

Several new buildings across Rotherham have been acclaimed in a regional building excellence awards.

The Brook Meadows housing development in Aston; the new building for funeral directors J Parkinson and Sons in Westgate; and two schools in Maltby - the newly-revamped Maltby Academy and the Lilly Hall Primary School - were all successful in this year's South Yorkshire and Humber Building Excellence Awards.

The awards, which recognise building excellence during the year, are organised by building control departments of local authorities across South Yorkshire and the Humber.

The projects were judged on a range of criteria including compliance with building regulations, accessibility, inclusive environment and sustainability as well as client and customer satisfaction.

W. Redmile & Sons, a family-owned business based in Sheffield, were the winners in the "Best Housing Development" category for Brook Meadows in Aston. The site comprises 200 units off Mansfield Road and although it has taken a few years to complete this phase of the site the standard of build is always high and consistent.

The recent re-build of Maltby Academy helped BAM Construction pick up the winners award for the "Best Education Project." BAM Construction has transformed the existing site to provide over 10,000 sq m of modern teaching facilities in both new and refurbished buildings. This phase of works includes the focal point of the redevelopment, the new Business and Enterprise Centre (picture during construction), as well as the refurbished teaching and social spaces.

Most importantly, throughout the whole construction period, the daily running of the Academy has been maintained and safety ensured for the 1,200 pupils and teaching staff.

Achieving highly commended in the "Best Small Community Project" category was Maltby's Lilly Hall Primary School. It was designed by James Cox of Rotherham Borough Council's Design and Projects department and built by local contractor George Hurst and Sons Ltd.

Eton Construction, which is based in Rotherham's Wellgate, achieved a highly commended award for its nomination in the "Best Commercial Project Up To £1m." They are responsible for the new building in Westgate, Rotherham, for undertakers, J Parkinson and Sons.

Cain Green, commercial director of Eton Construction (pictured above, right), said: "We are delighted to have received the award out of the many other projects put forward within the region and hope this will help further establish ourselves moving forward.

"The project was met by many challenges; limited site space, limited shared access with our clients who were still operating in their current building and piling of the building, to name a few. We overcome them also giving recognition for the award, by closely working with the building inspectors from Rotherham Building Control, our client J Parkinson and Sons and Building Design Concept, the Rotherham based project architect."

Successful projects in the South Yorkshire and Humber Building Excellence Awards 2014 are now eligible for nomination to the national LABC - Local Authority Building Control finals - to be held in London later in the year.

Local Authority Building Control website
Eton Construction website

Images: Maltby Academy / Eton Construction / LABC

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News: Macalloy helps transform Denmark's House of Industry

Products manufactured by Rotherham construction experts, Macalloy, have helped to transform a major business building in the heart of Copenhagen, Denmark.

An export success, Dinnington-based Macalloy are world leaders in design, manufacture and supply of threaded bar and cable systems to engineering and construction projects across the globe.

The Confederation of Danish Industry's (DI's) home for over 30 years, the "Industriens Hus" (House of Industry), has undergone a large scale renovation and modernisation enabling them to expand and create a contemporary building that could satisfy a modern and forward-looking organisation.

Designed by TRANSFORM Architects, the three year project involved adding a new 9,000 sq m structural glazing façade, a 7,200 sq m "diagrid" façade, a 2,000 sq m atrium, and a 1,000 sq m street level façade.

Macalloy architectural compression struts have been used to support the glass façade which covers the exterior walls. The resulting new exterior part of the building consists of a great media façade and over 80,000 LEDs which can be programmed for different speeds, colours, and direction creating thousands of different expressions displayed at one of the most heavily trafficked intersections in Copenhagen (see above).

Macalloy tension bars are also used as bracing in the sloping atrium roof that slopes down towards the city's famous Tivoli Gardens. The building is in a horseshoe shape and the atrium covers the central plaza.

At the opening of the building earlier this year Karsten Dybvad, CEO of the Confederation of Danish Industry, said: "The building's unique shape with a large glass façade has been the subject of considerable media attention. I think it is a great building to look at and a great place to work."

Macalloy website

Images: kollision /Confederation of Danish Industry

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News: TRC students have designs on Rotherham's forgotten spaces

Students from Thomas Rotherham College (TRC) have scooped the top two prizes in a competition that encourages budding young architects to design an idea to improve a forgotten space in their local neighbourhoods.

The first placed team won £1,000 in resources for the college in the Forgotten Spaces - Young Creatives competition, run by Sheffield Hallam University and supported by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Yorkshire and the Sheffield Society of Architects. The team included students Mona Jalali and Joe Bradley, who developed a design for a new "Common Room" for youngsters from Thomas Rotherham College and Rotherham College of Art and Technology to integrate and socialise. It was praised by competition judges for its "outstanding innovation that met the competition criteria at every level."

One of the judges was professional architect Chris Paterson, winner of the Sheffield Forgotten Spaces 2011 competition, who said: "The work was absolutely amazing, especially when you consider the age of some of the students who took part. It's really encouraging to see more and more young people taking part in the competition and I think we've definitely seen some future architects here."

A second team from Thomas Rotherham College scooped a further £750 in resources after they were declared runners-up for their design to build "The Pentagon" - a public area offering a place to relax while taking in the views over Rotherham.

Joe Bradley, 17, of the winning team (pictured above, second from right), said: "We really didn't expect to win, especially when the third and second prizes were announced and because so many things went wrong when we were preparing it. But, we're really proud of it now and loads of people have been really positive about our design and have said they wish it was actually being built."

Head judge, Professor Norman Wienand, who heads up the department architecture and planning said: "This competition has really captured the imagination of the pupils involved and I am sure we are looking at the work of the architects and planners of the future.

"It's great to be able to work with young people on ideas for their own communities and show them the processes involved in regenerating our cities."

TRC website
Sheffield Hallam University website

Images: SHU

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News: Rotherham's sustainable future

The innovative eco-homes at Henley Rise, Rotherham have been awarded the Sustainable Futures Award by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The project by the South Yorkshire Housing Association provides 23 timber-framed affordable homes at Masbrough. The properties are superinsulated to minimise heat loss and for most of the year, heat from lights and appliances will provide enough warmth without the need to use central heating. All the properties benefit from a complete solar roof generating 3000KW of electricity per property and providing at least two thirds of the hot water needed by the household. When put in place this was the largest installation of its kind in the UK. The Bond Bryan designed "Factory of the Future" at the Advanced Manufacturing Park was also shortlisted in the same category at RIBA's Yorkshire White Rose Awards.
SYHA website

RIBA Yorkshire website
Rotherham

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News: Venture Xtreme's Rotherham project to feature in design show

An exhibition on the design of future building projects including those along the River Thames will also showcase the designs for Baca Architects' forthcoming extreme sports centre, Venture Xtreme, to be sited at the YES! Project adjacent to Rother Valley Country Park in Rotherham. Organised by New London Architecture, the exhibition runs from 10th January to 23rd February.
Venture Xtreme website
Design Week article

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