Ibstock Creating UK's First Automated Brick Slip Factory
Ibstock has revealed plans for a £50million capital investment in a new West Yorkshire factory and is aiming to build the UK's first automated brick slip systems factory in Nostell.
The planned investment is set to provide capacity for up to 60 million brick slips per annum. An initial investment of around £38million, providing capacity to produce 30 million brick slips, will be spread evenly across 2022 and 2023, with the factory commissioning in late 2023. The second phase of investment is expected to be made shortly after as additional capacity is required.
The factory will be constructed within the existing footprint of the group's Nostell facility, which operated as a brick factory until its closure in 2020. The planning application process has begun, and construction on-site is expected to start during the first quarter of 2022. The facility is the launch project for Ibstock Futures – a new business unit established to capture growth opportunities in new, fast growth sectors of the UK construction market.
As demand grows for façade products and solutions for both newbuild and re-cladding products, Ibstock Futures will develop new products suitable for a wide range of residential, commercial and mixed-use applications. Ibstock Futures enables the Group to develop a stronger presence in the fast-growing offsite and modular construction markets.
"The launch of Ibstock Futures is an important strategic development for the Group," says Joe Hudson, Ibstock plc's Chief Executive Officer (pictured). "Our new business unit will directly address a number of exciting growth markets that complement our existing offer for conventional building methods as the focus on sustainability and the industrialisation of construction processes gathers pace.
"The initial £50million investment in brick slip manufacturing capacity at Nostell, West Yorkshire, will be a first for the UK and will enable us to take a leadership position in this fast-growing market. Crucially, it will also be a beacon of manufacturing excellence and sustainability – we are all very excited at the prospect of producing a net zero brick slip. We have made ambitious commitments on our Sustainability Roadmap to 2025 – and this announcement underpins our ambitions. The Nostell plant is the first of a pipeline of growth initiatives we have in development for Ibstock Futures and we are excited about the potential this new business has to accelerate growth in the years ahead."
Source: www.ibstockbrick.co.uk