Ashburton Business Estate a powerful attraction
Electricity Ashburton Ltd’s decision to move to the major industrial subdivision, Ashburton Business Estate (ABE) in mid-Canterbury, could not have come at a better time. The electricity network is developing a 2.65ha site at ABE that will house its 100 staff in three buildings covering administration, a workshop, a stores building and open yard storage. General manager Gordon Guthrie said the locally owned co-operative was originally attracted by the ability to house all its operations on one large site, as it is currently split between a town location and industrial area. Its workshop and administration centre is currently located in the heart of big box retail while the storage facility is in an older industrial area. “The retail area has grown up around us and we don’t need to be here. We liked Ashburton Business Estate because it allowed us to be on one site, it has excellent transport access and it’s a safe site on the outskirts of town,” Guthrie said. “We really feel as though our decision has been vindicated after seeing what happened in Christchurch following the earthquakes. We also reviewed our plans and are now building to Category 4, to ensure that we can operate in a major civil emergency.” Electricity Ashburton expects building to be complete by October with its shift to ABE earmarked before Christmas. It will be the second resident in Ashburton Business Estate, following Canterbury Longrun Roofing. Established in 1969, LongRun manufactures steel roofing, cladding and accessories for the building trade. Marketing agents Noel Gilchrist and Brent Bailey of Colliers International in Christchurch are talking with several other parties eyeing ABE, and say that easy access to road, rail, sea and air transport networks is a key attraction. These include: * South Island main trunk rail line * State Highway 1 * […]