Vulcan Works in Northampton town centre appoints centre management team

A state-of-the-art £14 million hub supporting start-up creative businesses in Northampton has appointed a new team to run the operation.

Vulcan Works, which is managed by Oxford Innovation Space, opened its doors in February and will support local businesses to thrive through offering lettable office space, workshops, meeting rooms and coworking spaces.

Garrick Hurter has been named as centre manager, ably supported by assistant centre manager Gail Haddon. The pair will be on hand to support innovation and collaboration at the centre, which is based in a Grade II listed converted ironworks factory in the town’s Cultural Quarter.

Born and raised in South Africa, Garrick has a solid background in operating and managing centres with 15 years of serviced office industry experience. Prior to joining Oxford Innovation Space, he was involved in the operation and set-up of serviced offices across the UK and understands the unique requirements that many businesses have when looking at taking space.

He said: “I am excited to be a part of the Vulcan Works journey and help local businesses, whether they are starting-up or scaling up. Our focus will be on providing a low-risk flexible space that brings together the communities of customers within the creative and digital sectors. I look forward to meeting and working with the business community.”

Gail worked in the customer service industry for 39 years before spending the last three years in the serviced office industry, which is where her passion lies.

Gail said: “I have the most amazing role, becoming the assistant centre manager at the Vulcan Works. I am so excited to be a part of this new venture, where we are creating an innovative community, offering a variety of offices, workshops, hot desking, coworking, plus a variety of meeting room facilities. It is much more than a workspace, as we provide bespoke support for all businesses within our centre. I can’t wait to see what wonderful businesses join us.”

The duo have also added customer experience assistant Hannah Tanner to the fold. Hannah previously worked in e-commerce and as a theatre production assistant. She has a love for creativity that will be hugely beneficial in her new role.

Hannah said: “I am looking forward to welcoming both customers and visitors to the Vulcan Works and I’m excited to be working with the team in this beautiful centre.”

The most recent addition to the team is Darren Smith, who joins the centre as business growth manager. Darren has a wealth of business experience, running his own international primary education business for almost 20 years before taking on roles that saw him providing advice and mentoring to new start-up and early stage businesses. His appointment has been described as ‘a gamechanger’ for Vulcan Works.

Darren said: “I am both proud and hugely excited to be taking on this new role at Vulcan Works. It really is an incredible space that is so conducive to a growing creative business. I’m looking forward to getting to know the wide range of businesses that will call Vulcan Works home and working with them directly to support their growth through the provision of business support services. I am also planning to bring the community to life and provide further support through organising networking events and workshops and training.”

The Vulcan Works refurbishment was funded by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) and South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP), who facilitated a Local Growth Fund contribution of £6.3 million, together with £3.06 million from the European Regional Development Fund.

To find out more about Vulcan Works or request a show around, email [email protected].