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Leighton firm re-opened in a blaze of glory
Leighton's firefighters were special guests.
LEIGHTON firefighters were special guests at the official reopening of FAI Automotive's new warehouse/headquarters on Friday – 18 months after the company faced the aftermath of a blaze which threatened its entire business.
Fire ripped through the building on Leighton's Chiltern Trading Estate in January 2008, de-stroying stock and causing massive structural damage.
A neighbouring building owned by the company was also damaged, but, thanks to the prompt action of the firefighters, was repairable and made functional by FAI within days of the blaze.
Managing director Sean Walker said: "Local people know the scale of the fire and it's a great credit to all involved that FAI not only managed to weather the crisis but has actually gone from strength to strength – especially when set against the backdrop of this potential disaster and the economic climate as a whole."
Leighton mayor Karen Cursons cut the ceremonial ribbon and gratefully accepted a 1,000 donation from the company for her nominated charities.
Mr Walker said: "The automotive in-dustry has been going through a rough time recently, like much of the rest of the UK economy, so it is excellent to be able to report we are bucking the trend.
"I can honestly say that FAI has never been busier and we plan to broaden our product portfolio further still.
"The fire also proved to be positive in some respects, as it has allowed us to re-organise our systems internally, to streamline operations in the warehouse and ultimately make better, more efficient use of the space we have."
He added: "Despite the opening of the new warehouse-headquarters building, we will continue to occupy the additional units that we originally took out as a stop-gap measure, as we already need the extra capacity they now offers us.
"I would very much like to thank the town mayor as well as Leighton Buzzard fire brigade chief Mark Hutchings for helping open the new building – they did a brilliant job.
"We are also delighted to be able to help the mayor's charity fund with a contribution, which we know will benefit several very worthwhile causes."
FAI has its roots in motor racing and has successfully promoted the business through motorsport.
Mr Walker is a keen motorsport competitor who has raced at national and international level.
Unsurprisingly, therefore, FAI took the opportunity of the opening to display two of the cars which carry the company's branding – the Lotus Elan 26R, which is resplendent in FAI's original livery and the Formula 2 March-BMW from the 1970s with which Mr Walker has enjoyed considerable recent success in historic motorsport.
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Weather for Leighton Buzzard
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
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Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
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