Etex will be expanding its Bristol manufacturing facility, increasing production capacity for its Siniat brand by over 50% and providing 50 new jobs to the area.
The business will also use the £140 million investment in the former brownfield site to encourage more young people to enter the manufacturing sector through its tailor-made Operator Apprenticeship scheme, designed to meet future skills requirements.
The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, set to open in 2023, will have a core focus on sustainability, utilising a rainwater harvesting system, solar PV, electric car charging points, and eventually a fully electric forklift fleet. The extra space will also help Etex achieve 30% post-consumer gypsum in its plasterboard by 2025.
What’s more, as demand for its plasterboard products grows, the plant’s proximity to the Royal Portbury Dock will allow Etex to seamlessly import raw materials for its products via the Bristol channel.
Neil Shaw, country manager (UK and Ireland) at Etex, said: “The extension of our Bristol facility will significantly increase our production capacity in the UK, at a time when our plasterboard solutions are in high demand, which is currently outstripping industry supply availability.
“We’re extremely confident that the underlying upward trend in demand for our product will continue, so being able to produce and supply it in significantly larger quantities will be crucial, not only to the growth of our business, but also in supporting the wider construction industry’s growth challenges.
“Investing in a site with sustainability and future-oriented technology at its core was a crucial consideration, as we work towards a number of ambitious sustainability targets over the coming years.”
