THE York-based Portakabin Group is seeing a significant rise in demand for buildings in the manufacturing sector as more organisations look to expand their facilities using off-site construction.

The group’s latest project constructed using its Yorkon off-site solutions is for Totally Wicked – the first purpose-designed fluid production and technical facility for electronic cigarettes to be built in the UK.

The scheme has increased the company’s capacity to over ten million bottles of premium quality e-liquid every year for the UK, US and worldwide markets.

The facility was constructed off site at the Portakabin factory in York to radically shorten the programme time, and to reduce disruption to the local community and to the company’s existing operations on the Totally Wicked site in Blackburn.

The scheme comprises a new production facility on the ground floor, complete with test room, fluid mixing area, bottling plant and a highly insulated cold room. New offices are located on the upper floor.

Stuart Mercer, operations director at Totally Wicked, said: “We chose an off-site solution because the brownfield site we wanted to develop is very constrained and it was critical to have as little interruption to our operations and to neighbouring properties as possible.”

Portakabin was the principal contractor for the project.