Ring Automotive
- Location
Leeds - Project Size
5,100 sq ft - Project Duration
16 Weeks - Sector
Automotive - Category
Office Design & Fit Out
Project Background and Objectives
Ring Automotive had teams and facilities spread across two separate buildings. The aim was to bring them together, creating a more efficient setup for the people working across the business.
The workshop and specialist testing facilities were relocated into the retained building, alongside the existing offices, warehouse and dispatch operation. To make this possible without sacrificing valuable storage, Opus4 introduced a new 5,100 sq ft mezzanine, freeing up the ground floor for the relocated technical areas.
The change also brought customer services, sales and finance much closer to the workshop team. Instead of working across separate buildings, colleagues can now move easily between the office and technical areas.
Our Approach
- Reconfigured the ground floor to accommodate the workshop and specialist testing facilities previously housed in a separate building.
- Introduced a 5,100 sq ft mezzanine for storage, allowing the warehouse to retain the capacity Ring Automotive needed while making better use of the space below.
- Refurbished the existing offices and created direct connections to the new workshop, making everyday communication between office and technical teams much easier.
- Created specialist testing areas, including a dedicated beam room used for car headlight testing and customer demonstrations.
- Installed anti-static flooring in the workshop to meet the requirements of the electrical testing benches.
- Delivered a new air conditioning system, including the associated external works and planning requirements.
Challenges and Solutions
- Making one building work for the whole business – Consolidating two buildings meant finding room for several very different functions. Office teams, technical testing, workshop activity, storage and dispatch all needed to operate effectively within the same building.The mezzanine was central to the solution. Moving storage upwards released the ground floor space needed for the workshop and testing facilities without reducing warehouse capacity.
- Bringing teams closer together – The previous arrangement left the smaller workshop team separated from colleagues based in the main building. Relocating the workshop changed that.Customer services, sales and finance can now access the technical team directly through the connecting office and workshop areas. It’s a simple change, but one that makes day-to-day communication much easier.
- Designing around specialist testing – The technical areas needed more than a standard industrial fit out. Anti-static flooring was specified around the electrical testing benches, while a dedicated beam room was created specifically for headlight testing.Finished in black and deliberately kept free from unnecessary fittings, the beam room provides the controlled environment needed to demonstrate light reflection and beam angles clearly.
Results
Ring Automotive now has its office, workshop, testing, storage and dispatch operations working from one building.
The new 5,100 sq ft mezzanine maintains the storage capacity needed by the warehouse, while the space below has given the workshop and testing teams a permanent home within the main site.
The biggest difference is how easily teams can work together. Colleagues who were previously separated across two buildings are now only a short walk away, making communication between office and technical teams quicker and more straightforward.
The specialist areas have also been designed around their day-to-day use, from the anti-static workshop flooring to the purpose-built beam room.
Key Takeaways
- Bringing separate teams into one building can make everyday communication simpler and create a more connected way of working.
- Adding mezzanine storage can free up valuable ground floor space without reducing warehouse capacity.
- Technical environments work best when the fit out responds to the specific tasks being carried out, rather than taking a standard approach.
