This is the first glimpse inside Laing O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 拢100m state-of-the art offsite building facility in Steetley, Nottinghamshire, as seen by the Duke of Kent on a royal visit last month

The duke met some of the 270 workers at the facility, which was recently described as 鈥渕indblowing鈥� by one senior offsite figure. The unit, which stands on a 210-acre site, has been operational since July 2009. Inspiration for the facility followed a visit to Japan by Ray O鈥橰ourke, the firm鈥檚 chairman and chief executive, in 2006. He was reportedly impressed by the output of a similar factory run by Sekisui Heim, which generates 拢2.1bn of sales per year.