Former FibreGrid staff made redundant in 2025 have set up GR8 Composites in a council unit on Hollands Road, Haverhill, after a £1.1 million refurbishment.

A business started by workers made redundant from FibreGrid has opened in Haverhill. GR8 Composites is now the tenant of 2 Hollands Road, an industrial unit owned by West Suffolk Council. Haverhill is about 17 miles south-west of Bury St Edmunds.

The company held an opening event at the unit on Thursday 17 September. The council announced the letting on 21 September (West Suffolk Council).

From redundancy to a new firm

The council says GR8 Composites was set up by former employees of FibreGrid, which closed in Haverhill earlier this year.

Sonya Pilgrim, the managing director, said: “What began with the disappointment of redundancy at the end of 2025 has evolved into an exciting new chapter with the launch of our own company.”

Companies House records show:

  • GR8 Composites Limited (17036104) was incorporated on 16 February 2026, with its registered office at 31 High Street, Haverhill (Companies House)
  • the company that traded as FibreGrid Limited (04154095), founded in 2001, changed its name to FG Structures Limited on 2 March 2026. It is still registered as active, with a registered office in Bristol (Companies House)

GR8 Composites supplies glass reinforced plastic (GRP) safety products: anti-slip grating, flat sheets, stair treads, stair nosings and decking strips. Its website says it does not make them itself. It is the exclusive UK distributor for a manufacturing partner, and it says its senior managers average more than 25 years in GRP supply (GR8 Composites).

Neither the council nor the company has said how many people GR8 employs.

The building

2 Hollands Road had a £1.1 million refurbishment before the letting. The council says the work included:

  • reconfiguring the building
  • a new roof
  • extra insulation in the walls and roof
  • solar panels, expected to save about 4.5 tonnes of CO2 and about £2,000 a year for the tenant

The works finished in January 2026. Before GR8 moved in, the council used the unit as a bin store for its Better Recycling rollout, sending out bins across Haverhill and the south of the district.

The council has not published the rent. Cllr Diane Hind, the cabinet member for resources, said rental income “is reinvested into West Suffolk, helping to fund important council services”. The Mayor of Haverhill, Cllr Lora Miller-Jones, also attended the opening.

What it means for you

  • For Haverhill: skills from a closed employer have stayed in the town, in a council-owned building refitted this year.
  • For trade buyers: GR8 Composites sells through its website and on 01440 536008. Its site lists opening hours of 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30am to 2.30pm on Friday.
  • Other business news: our Bury St Edmunds news page carries the district’s openings and closures as they happen.