The official 'topping out' ceremony signaling completion of the roof marks a key milestone in the development of the prestigious new £20 million European Operations Centre for AGCO at Abbey Park, Stoneleigh.
Over 500 staff will be transferring from AGCO's present site at Banner Lane, Coventry to the new building in the Autumn of this year. It will serve as AGCO's European Operations Centre for the management of the Company's business throughout Europe, Africa and Middle East (EAME). AGCO, a world leader in the manufacture, design and distribution of farm machinery has signed a 20-year lease for the building from the site owners, Pettifer Estates.
"Work is progressing at a tremendous pace – on-time and to budget," says Gary Collar, AGCO's Senior Vice-President. "We are creating a first-class working environment for our employees and one that will truly reflect the status of our operations here."
In Europe, AGCO manufactures and distributes Massey Ferguson, Fendt, Challenger and Valtra agricultural equipment – all leading brands in the industry. European Operations account for over 50% of AGCO's $5.3 billion global turnover.
The 'topping out' of the state-of-art building by contractors Miller Construction means that practical construction of the two-storey 81,000 sq ft building is on target for completion of the 43-week development programme.
Designed by architects Aedas, the elegantly curved structure of the building has two separate wings with two 18,000 sq ft (1,672 sq m) floors in each. The buildings are joined by a spectacular double-storey glass atrium with a bridge link at the first floor.
"Tailored totally to our needs, this 21st century building will help us to achieve the consistently high level of service AGCO aims to deliver," adds Gary Collar. "Seeing the building take shape makes this project a reality and we are looking forward to Abbey Park being our corporate home for many years – a place where we can welcome customers and business partners."
Joining Gary Collar at the 'topping out' ceremony were AGCO employees Tracey Tidmarsh, Secretary Export Sales, David Kouassivi, Credit Analyst and Colin Davies, European Office Facilities Manager together with representatives of the site developers and contractors.
This was a first visit to the new site for Tracey and David and they were both impressed by the development. For Tracey it was something of a nostalgic visit as she worked at the site for 10 years during the early 1990s when it was the site of Massey Ferguson's Global Headquarters. "I have very happy memories of being here. It is really interesting to see the new building in the flesh after looking at the photographs. I am impressed! It's much further forward than I expected."
Commented David: "Moving to the new offices is going to be a big change for us, but a good change. For a company like AGCO selling agricultural products, it is perfect to be on a rural site like this. The fantastic new building is really going to reflect the modern, forward-looking outlook of the company."
