Optare plc
("Optare" or the "Company")
Factory Relocation Complete
Optare is pleased to confirm that the transfer of production from the former Leeds site to the new plant in Sherburn in Elmet has now been successfully completed.
In addition, the Board announces that it has signed a long term supply partnership with WEC Group Ltd. ("WEC"), under which the production of bus structures is outsourced. As WEC's factory is adjacent to the Company's new factory, structures will be delivered to Optare at the point they are needed in the build process thereby providing maximum benefit to the Company's working capital position.
Jim Sumner, CEO, said, "The relocation is the culmination of our focused strategy during the turnaround to consolidate manufacturing to a single modern facility to increase capacity and reduce fixed costs and heralds a major shift in the business from a 'coach building' model to a 'modern assembly' environment. Now we are in the new factory we are looking forward to yielding the benefits of the increased efficiency."
For further information:
Optare plc Tel: 0845 838 9901
Jim Sumner - Chief Executive
Cenkos Securities plc Tel: +44 (0) 20 7397 8900
Stephen Keys/Camilla Hume