How can this Hartlepool manufacturer benefit from £1m investment in 2018?

Hartlepool-based expanded metal mesh pioneer, The Expanded Metal Company has announced that it is to benefit from major investment worth up to £1m over this year.

The investment programme will include the upgrading of buildings on the company’s 25,000 sq m site in Hartlepool, refurbishing specialist manufacturing equipment, acquiring new machinery and replacing existing lighting with more energy-efficient LED lighting systems.

The work is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The Expanded Metal Company has an industrial heritage dating back to 1889 and was founded by John French Golding, the inventor and patentee of expanded metal.

The firm’s site is a long established global centre for expanded metal expertise and The Expanded Metal Company supplies high quality expanded metal mesh products for sectors including construction, filtration, engineering, transport, utilities, automotive, aerospace and architecture.

The investment will support extensive refurbishments to the exterior of the company’s facilities in Hartlepool and will help to reduce its carbon footprint by improving insulation throughout the site.

Philip Astley, the firm’s managing director, said: “With this investment, Empire Holdings has again demonstrated its commitment to The Expanded Metal Company, Hartlepool and North East manufacturing.

“In the last two years the company has made great strides forward in terms of penetrating new markets, providing additional services to current customers and developing our product range, using the vast specialist expertise of our highly committed workforce here in Hartlepool.

“This investment programme will help to cement our position as an expanded metal mesh manufacturer; make our operations more energy efficient and further strengthen our manufacturing capabilities.”

As part of the investment programme, the company’s 75 machine - which was commissioned in 1969 and is believed to be one of the widest expanded metal mesh presses in Europe - recently underwent refurbishment.

The Expanded Metal Company was acquired by US-based private investment firm Empire Investment Holdings from Gibraltar Industries Inc. in 2016. It was previously part of the Expamet group of companies.

Recently, the manufacturer has introduced a number of new products to its expanded metal mesh ranges. It has also launched products for use in the construction industry, including brick reinforcement mesh, expanded metal laths, vent meshes and bolt boxes.

The company’s expanded metal mesh products were recently used to create interior design features in the V&A Museum of Design Dundee, which is due to open in September 2018.

The Expanded Metal Company, which has operated for more than 125 years, was the first UK fencing manufacturer to be awarded ‘Secured by Design’ status.

The firm works closely with contractors and end users to create bespoke solutions for their projects, drawing on its extensive design and manufacturing expertise, and high-class production capabilities.