This is the first glimpse inside Laing O’Rourke’s £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 “mindblowing” 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’Rourke, the firm’s chairman and chief executive, in 2006. He was reportedly impressed by the output of a similar factory run by Sekisui Heim, which generates £2.1bn of sales per year.