The company, which estimates it has almost 40% of the UK I-joist market, acquired some additional land adjacent to its site last October. It is now expanding its manufacturing capacity there and has signed an agreement with Quebec-based Conception RP Inc to supply and commission a new, state-of-the-art finger-jointing line. It’s the Canadian company’s first major project in the UK.
"We are expanding our JJI-Joist production capacities substantially with this new line," said Tom Bruce-Jones, joint managing director, adding that it will almost double the plant capacity of JJI-Joist equivalent linear output.
"We have been encouraged by the financial reporting and forecasts made by the UK housebuilding sector and are confident that the timing is right to invest now to meet the sector’s demands in the next few years."
Total expenditure on the project is expected to be around £4.5m and, along with the finger-jointing line, includes new buildings, yard improvements, a biomass boiler and a new dust extraction system from Indusvent.
The new line is expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of next year and the investment programme will continue to roll out during 2015.
