The Duke of Kent has officially opened a new corporate head office in Poole in Dorset for BOFA International, a ‘world leader’ in industrial fume and dust extraction technology.
BOFA says the visit by His Royal Highness to its new 12,000 ft2 premises acknowledges its ‘remarkable success’ since a management buy-out in 2015, during which time it has grown its export markets to over 120 countries, and achieved recognition of its technological leadership through a Queen’s Award for Innovation.
The new building is home to corporate services – including customer support, marketing, product management, HR, and finance, but will also house what will reportedly be one of the world’s most advanced fume and dust extraction R&D facilities.
“We are very proud to fly the flag for British manufacturing, and our investment in these new facilities will enhance our ability to innovate and expand as we drive forward our ambitious plans for the future,” said Tony Lockwood, BOFA’s MD. “Our achievement of the Queen’s Award for Innovation last year reaffirmed to me the importance of the company’s core values of innovation, customer service, and support, for our people in the implementation of our strategic plans to meet growing worldwide demand for our technology.”
BOFA is one of Dorset’s fastest-growing businesses, employing over 250 people in the design and production of fume and dust extraction systems that remove harmful airborne contaminants associated with industrial processes. The new building increases the company’s footprint in Poole by 25 per cent, and includes an R&D facility to support the work of BOFA’s 14-strong specialist team of chartered engineers and technicians. This technical excellence was acknowledged through the Queen’s Award for Innovation in 2017 for the company’s development of its Intelligent Operating (iQ) platform – a ‘world first’ that BOFA says ‘brings new levels of monitoring, analytics, and control, to extraction system performance’.
In addition to its UK investment, the company has opened a new office in Germany, added a business development function in Poland, and significantly enhanced its USA operation.
