IPS (Impact Production Services) recently invited TPi to Milton Keynes to look around its new state-of-the-art, purpose-built warehouse and site, the latter of which spans six-and-a-half acres. With the company completing the move over the Easter period, the new facility signals new life for IPS, bolstering its operations further and doubling its capacity.
“Next year will be 25 years of IPS, so it feels like the right time to double the size of our site,” Tom Warden, H&S and Marketing Manager at IPS began. “We moved into our previous site in 2013, which was also doubling our capacity at the time. It is brilliant to grow so rapidly.”
Located a mile from the previous site, the new facility stands as proof of the growth the company has experienced coming up on its quarter of a century anniversary. “We have every confidence that the move is going to be worthwhile,” Warden stated, discussing the company’s growth despite often challenging market conditions. “It feels like a vast space at the moment, but we are looking forward to having the space to better serve our projects and clients.”
The new space features 10 loading docks, with three dock levellers to streamline processes, as well as 140kW solar array, a rainwater harvesting system to be used for vehicle and wash bays, EV charging points, a full motion-controlled LED lighting setup and upgraded insulation to improve energy efficiency – all of this to contribute to the company’s commitment to lowering its environmental impact. “It was important to us to make environmental changes that we couldn’t do at our previous site,” Warden said. “Being greener is now increasingly part of every arrangement and we want to be able to provide customers with an environmental impact analysis when using us.”
The company has also just been awarded an A EPC rating, which it discovered the day TPi visited. “It’s amazing,” Warden said, noting the hard work that went into achieving the rating. “We worked hard to get it; we didn’t expect to get such a high rating, but we were quietly hoping for it.”
Discussing some of the challenges IPS went through before adding additional space, Warden revealed that the company had to turn down work. “Last summer, we had a horrible situation in which our space was so maximised we weren’t able to get some of our kit out, despite having more than enough of it,” Warden explained. “Moving into the new site means that we won’t have to turn down work and we will be able to maximise the use of our equipment.”
With the move facilitating the company to take on a larger workload, IPS has put a focus on centralising warehouse and technical teams to encourage collaboration between departments. “We’re moving everything together into one big collaborative space, which we’re really excited about,” Warden commented. “We’ve added more meeting rooms, and more spaces for people to huddle and work together to completely change the way we’re currently working. Because we offer various disciplines, we want projects that utilise multiple departments to be able to find a space together, making our performance more efficient,” he added.
With the facility crafted from the ground up, IPS has put all of its effort into ensuring that the site has longevity for years to come. IPS founder, James Mason, commented: “Our new warehouse is so much more than just additional space. It’s a hub that has been carefully designed, based on our learnings, to foster innovation by bringing our teams closer together, enhancing collaboration and efficiency. It allows us to provide an even better service to our clients and support our team for many years to come.”
Looking after staff and client interests when considering the move, Mason explained that being close to the previous site ensures that IPS can maintain its proximity to London and utilise transport links while offering better public transport connections and increased parking bays. “It’s remarkable to think that our first site would now fit entirely into our current lighting department, which truly highlights the transformative steps forward we’ve taken and continue to take,” he added.
Looking forward to the next year at IPS, Warden expects the work the company can facilitate over the summer to increase. “Our order books are already bulging for the year ahead, which is exciting,” Warden reported. “We want to be the go-to company for whatever people may need, while also being a specialist operation that isn’t a huge conglomerate.”
Mason concluded by anticipating the company’s approaching 25th anniversary: “As we approach our milestone anniversary in 2026, this expansion marks a significant step in our journey to continually improve service delivery and drive innovation within the events industry. With enhanced facilities, greater operational efficiencies, and our customer-first approach, we are excited to support even more ambitious projects and further strengthen our role as a trusted partner to our clients.”
Words: Alicia Pollitt
Photos: IPS
