Cushion maker Caldeira grows workforce as it invests £3m in new Liverpool city region headquarters that has 1,000 solar panels. Tony McDonough reports

Merseyside cushion manufacturer Caldeira has opened a new 85,000 sq ft headquarters in Knowsley and is growing its headcount.

Caldeira manufactures and exports cushions to more than 20 countries across the world. It was founded as a stall on Great Homer Street Market in Liverpool in 1991 by entrepreneur Tony Caldeira. During the panedemic it pivoted to produce PPE.

Now the firm has relocated within Knowsley to a new base at Knowsley Industrial Park in Merseyside in a £3m investment. Caldeira has installed 1,000 solar panels on the roof with a 500KW capacity. It is looking to double this to 1MW.

Located on a three-acre site in Lees Road, the premises house manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, office, and showroom facilities. It has replaced the company’s former rented premises.

This move will see 10 jobs created taking headcount up to 55. And it will enable the company to increase capacity to make 1m cushions a year.

Caldeira is occupying around 35,000 sq ft of the space. It is looking to offer around 50,000 sq ft to other occupiers in the New Year. Split into smaller units, the space will be marketed by agents at B8 Real Estate.

It is also teaming up with Baltic Broadband, to deliver ultra-fast broadband of up to 40Gbps to the rest of Knowsley Industrial Park.

Tony Caldeira, founder and managing director of Caldeira, said: “Our new headquarters will provide a permanent home for the company. It will give Caldeira the capacity to grow and diversify our business further. The project is not only important for Caldeira, it is also exciting for the local area. 

“As well as being ideal for cushion manufacturing, our new headquarters is perfect for renewable solar energy generation, has enabled a new digital hub to be created on site, and will provide much-needed industrial space to let on the Knowsley Industrial Park.\

Caldeira’s purchase of the building has been supported by HSBC Bank in Liverpool. Matt Murphy, relationship manager, added: “It’s fantastic to help Caldeira with the acquisition of a new headquarters.

“This move will allow the company to continue delivering high quality products throughout the UK and Europe. We look forward to seeing the business continuing to strengthen its operations and create employment opportunities for the local community.”

The renovation of the building has been assisted by the Liverpool city region’s Flexible Growth Fund. And it was supported by the Liverpool City Region Capital Grant Fund. 

The solar panels on the building were installed by Environmental Roofing Services. Caldeira will make a decision on expanding the capacity in 2023.