Market-leading
aircrete manufacturer H+H held an official opening for its newly refurbished
Borough Green factory.
Tom Tugendhat, MP for
Tonbridge and Malling, performed the opening itself with the Secretary of State
for Housing, Local Government and Communities James Brokenshire also visiting
the plant during the day to see the new production facility.
The rebuilding of the
factory transforms the 30-year-old plant into the most technically advanced and
efficient aircrete plant in Europe. When running at capacity, the plant
produces around 20% more volume – enough to build an additional 5,000 houses
per year.
With the plant
expected to be manufacturing aircrete blocks for the next thirty years, it has
also been designed with some significant future-proofing. Blocks produced
at Borough Green are manufactured from Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) but given the
changes in power generation in the UK it was considered prudent to design the
new plant so that increased quantities of sand can be used as and when PFA
becomes more difficult to obtain.
The multi-million
pound refurbishment project is a resounding vote of confidence from the Danish
parent company in the UK economy and housebuilding sector – confidence that was
recognised by Tom Tugenhadt, who acknowledged the vital contribution of manufacturers
such as H+H to the task of addressing the housing shortage.
This sentiment was
echoed later in the day by James Brokenshire, during a private tour of the new
plant, who welcomed H+H’s investment in manufacturing technology to support the
drive to build new homes.
In an upbeat
assessment of the current housebuilding market, Stewart Baseley, Chairman of
the Home Builders Federation underlined the confidence of the major
housebuilders, pointing to the increasing rate of planning consents and rising
number of new house completions as evidence of a vibrant and forward-thinking
sector supported by a very “pro-development” government.
The opening day was
very much centred on a mood of celebration, recognising the achievements of the
team at Borough Green whose commitment, hard work and determination had
delivered the construction of the new plant in just four months.
H+H
UK Managing Director, Calum Forsyth paid tribute to the teamwork involved in
the project, recognising the major contribution of equipment manufacturer
Wehrhahn and of project managers VA Consulting. However, he was keen to
point out that: “Collaborative working is often the
best solution, but the involvement of outside experts in no way diminishes the
exceptional work of our own Borough Green team. The commitment and
determination to complete this project was beyond extraordinary.”
Kent
Arentoft, Chairman of H+H International added his own thanks to the Borough
Green team, emphasizing also the significance of this investment, and the
importance of the UK market, to the H+H Group as a whole.
This theme
was expanded further by H+H International CEO Michael Anderson who gave more
detail on the expansion plans for the Group, referencing recent acquisitions in
Poland and Germany and touching on an ongoing programme of investment in the
portfolio of factories throughout Europe, including an additional UK project
involving H+H UK’s Pollington factory.
Many of H+Hs major
merchant and housebuilding customers attended the opening and paid tribute to
the way H+H had managed the refurbishment project, ensuring customers were kept
fully informed at every step of the process and product supply managed with huge
efficiency to minimise disruption to supply agreements.
