HRH Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, officially opened AB Dynamics' new premises on October 5, 2017 with the unveiling of a plaque and the signing of their visitor's book.
A number of civic dignitaries attended the event, including Lady Marland - the High Sheriff of Wiltshire, Cllr Allison Bucknell - Chairman of Wiltshire Council and Michelle Donelan, MP – Member of Parliament for Chippenham.
Tim Rogers, Chief Executive Officer at AB Dynamics escorted the Duke around the £9 million, 39,000-square foot site, where they viewed the manufacturing space and large offices. During the tour, the Duke reflected on the value of British engineering and the contribution that AB Dynamics has made to car safety. As a trained architect, he could appreciate the aspects of the design – its striking engineered form, high quality and close attention to detail, allowing natural light into most of the space.
The building, designed by SRA Architects, will accommodate AB Dynamics' wide product range including high quality test equipment, test rigs and advanced driving simulators, some of which will be over 8 tonnes in weight. They worked closely with AB Dynamics to design a building that communicated the company's strong brand values to all visitors and enabled easy adaptability throughout the building to readily accommodate the inevitable changes required by the fast-growing business.
John Rich, Partner, SRA Architects said: “AB Dynamics understand the value to their business of good design – their new headquarters will communicate the company's ethos of ‘advanced engineering' to staff, customers and investors. We have greatly enjoyed designing the project, and wish them every success for the future. ABD is a real asset to Bradford-on-Avon.”
Tim Rogers, Chief Executive Officer at AB Dynamics comments: "We are delighted that HRH Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and our local civic dignitaries could join us to mark this milestone in the company's history. We value the Duke's comments, notably his appreciation for the cutting-edge technology that has been developed by our accomplished workforce to make a significant improvement to road safety.”