North West

Transforming Bolton Kia

Bolton Kia-  Linkway - Middlebrook Retail Park

A £1 million project to create improved facilities for Bolton Kia has reached a successful completion.

The current showroom, which was opened in 2007, was submitted for a thorough overhaul, expanding into the former Carpet Depot site next to the current premises on The Linkway at Middlebrook Retail Park in Bolton, Lancashire.

The project comprised a complete restructure of the existing showroom in order to provide a state-of-the-art facility for one of Kia’s most prestigious sites. The new showroom adheres to the new stylish Kia standard ‘Red Cube’ design complete with glass panelling.

During the works, the two sites were stripped down, restructured and given a fantastic makeover, which included the installation of new heating and cooling systems, along with a new lighting scheme. In addition, Bolton Kia now boasts a mezzanine training facility along with two internal handover bays, which allow customers to drive out of the showroom in their new cars after the handover process.

17 tonnes of steel was used during the transformation process, along with considerable ceramic works. IT networks and electrics were installed throughout the building and some small associated landscaping working was completed to tie the site back into its surroundings.

Work began on the Bolton Kia project in January 2013 and reached completion at the end of April 2013. James Baines from MEDA was the project manager and architect on the scheme, with BDB Design and Build as the main contractor on the project.

Bolton Kia-  Linkway - Middlebrook Retail Park

During the works, a number of local companies were involved with the project, with the furniture sourced from Gresham, a local manufacturer.

Discussing this fantastic new facility, Bolton Kia Dealer Principal, Alex Purdie, said:

“Bolton Kia is based on a retail park and as a result has a high level of footfall. The existing structure of the building didn’t quite match the quality of service that we wanted to offer to our customers, so we decided to restructure the building, doubling the showroom footprint, to meet our high criteria.

“Taking on the former Carpet Depot site next door to our original showroom was the perfect solution. We now have this impressive brand new facility for Kia on The Linkway, as well as our 10,000 sq ft Service Department which remains in its current location further back on the Retail Park on Aspinall Way.”

Alex added:

“This is a state-of-the-art, landmark building for Kia and for Bolton. There are a considerably high volume of cars sold at this show room and in terms of the sales volume; we are Europe’s No.1 Kia dealer, benefitting from our great location. Our customers have a lot of faith in us, which is backed by our expert sales team so this project has helped us to continue this fantastic track record as we move forward into the future.”

Bolton Kia-  Linkway - Middlebrook Retail Park

Bolton Kia – Europe’s No.1 Kia dealer – is conveniently located on Middlebrook Retail Park next door to the famous Reebok Stadium, home of Bolton Wanderers FC, just a short hop off Junction 6 of the M61.

Sign Specialists Ltd

Incorporated in April 1961, Sign Specialists Ltd is one of the UK’s largest signage manufacturers, providing a complete range of services, from prototyping and design, right through to installation and maintenance.

In addition to Sign Specialists Ltd’s continued involvement for major automotive marques such as KIA Motors and Jaguar Land Rover, Sign Specialists Ltd also provide signage hardware for brands within the UK’s largest hotel and restaurant company Whitbread, as well as retail operators including The Boots Company plc and WH Smith.

Taking European prototype sites as its point of reference, Sign Specialists Ltd was responsible for developing KIA Motor’s corporate signage guidelines for rollout across their UK network. Sign Specialists Ltd defined how the brand should appear alongside the “Red Cube” design – the eye-catching cladding concept which is applied to the exterior of the showroom.

Commenting on the Bolton KIA project, Simon Stokes of Sign Specialists Ltd, said:

“This particular project was proof that we had successfully created a range of hardware that could be applied across the wide variety of architecture that constitutes a dealer network. With Bolton KIA extending into adjoining premises, thereby doubling the size of the dealership, our signage brought uniformity to the full extent of the new showroom.”

Simon added:

“We take great pride in our ability to adapt to the changing demands of the marketplace. Continued investment in new technology also means that we bring innovative solutions to the attention of decision makers, influencing the signage products we encounter in our everyday surroundings.”

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Roma Publications