The Board of directors are pleased to announce a 5 year expansion programme, which will double the production capacity of fabricated steelwork. With a capital investment of over ?3.5 million pounds, the investment comprises mainly of a 6845m2 extension to the rear of the existing factory and workshop. The extension will house new fabrication facilities of structural steelwork.

The new extension will create a fabrication facility that will enable the existing working regime to be revised and new working practices undertaken. The main details of the fabrication facility are as follows :-

1) Addition of 2 New dedicated saw and drill lines in covered stock areas ( 1 saw drill for hollow section / light steelwork and 1 saw drill for UB, UC, RSC & PFC heavy sections ).

2) New Fabri Punch by Peddinghouse to increase output of the Prep Bay.

3) New ShotBlast Facility ( situated after saw / drills but before fabrication ).

4) Conveyor system to and from above the saw drill lines ( include cross transfer system across bays ).

5) 4 New speed lines for fabrication.

6) 2 New dedicated spray bays incorporating additional heating and ventilation.

The addition of the extension and new working systen will not only double the fabrication capacity of structural steelwork, but will increase efficiency levels, reducing man-hours per tonne fabricated. This will be achieved by reduced manual handling times by cranes in the initial prep and saw drill areas and along the speed lines. The speed lines will greatly increase efficiency as steelwork is placed on bogies that travel the length of the fabrication area into the paint shop. The steelwork will not require moving from the bogies, ( only turning over for fabricating and painting on underside ) so no time will be lost with the manual transfer of steelwork by cranes and cross span train line. Large buffer areas have been created before the fabrication and paint areas to enable constant flow of materials along the production line.

To enable current flexibility in fabrication to remain, the current E shop will be set up as a stand alone traditional fabrication shop ( as currently operated ). This will allow the continued fabrication of excessively long or large steel trusses etc.