Water cleaning specialists Panton McLeod have expanded their headquarters in the Scottish Borders - by moving back into the building that was their former home. The firm, who are the UK’s leading water quality engineering specialist, will dramatically increase the size of its base at Newton St Boswells following the move into a neighboring warehouse - which was where the firm was based in the mid 1990s.

The new site at Waverley Place was the original home of Panton McLeod’s operations in the Newtown St Boswells and housed the firm from 1996-98, before the company’s expanding workload prompted a move to a bigger premises next door.

But following a series of successes over the past 12 months - which has included a contract renewal with Severn Trent water, numerous high-profile cleaning jobs with some of the country’s leading water firms and even branching out overseas into the United States – the firm has decided to move its underwater operations into the site in order to expand the business further.

Iain Weir, managing director of Panton McLeod, said: “When we first based ourselves in Newtown St Boswells, we were working out of this building so we’re really coming full circle by moving back into it now.

“We spent two great years there in the mid 1990s but, after our business expanded and we needed even bigger premises, we had to move everything into the unit next door.

“The company has continued to grow and we’re now at the stage where we had to look for somewhere new once more. We needed a premises that was big enough to comfortably house all of our operations and allow us to strengthen our position as the UK’s leading drinking water cleaning specialists.

“We clean a lot of big, underground water storage tanks that are often still in use “live” when we put our specialist underwater equipment into the water. Therefore, it’s imperative that we keep all of this equipment spotlessly clean and sterilised when it is in storage.

“We were concerned that we may even have to leave the Borders if we could not find a suitable way to separate our different divisions here but, thankfully, the building next door was available and we have now spread out our operations across the two warehouses.

“We’re really proud that we’ve been able to stay at our base in the Borders and that we’ve added a little piece of our history into our current set-up. We’ve been growing into an international firm in recent years, but it’s nice – especially for me as a Borders man - to still have our headquarters in the town where we’ve grown up in.”

As well as cleaning and repairing the reservoirs when they are drained down and out of commission, the company uses remotely-operated mini submarines to inspect underwater storage tanks – ensuring that the structures meet strict guidelines for cleanliness. They also use patented chemicals to expertly and safely clean the drinking water reservoirs, and have provided their services for some of the UK’s biggest water companies such as Scottish Water and Severn Trent Water.

The move means that Panton McLeod will now have a 3300 sq ft base of operations in the Borders and will run invoicing and administration offices in one warehouse, with the other being used for its underwater division. The extra space has allowed Panton McLeod to expand its collection of special equipment, including new water pumps, generators, confined access equipment and new 4x4 vehicles, which will be kept on site. The move has also allowed the company to store all of its specialist cleaning tools and chemicals separately from the other equipment.

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