Aggregate Industries invest £2 million in block plants

Masterblock division upgrades production capacity at three facilities in response to growing demand

AGGREGATE Industries’ Masterblock business has invested £2 million to improve the production of block products at three factories across the country, in response to a steady increase in demand from the housing industry for lightweight and dense concrete blocks.

The improvements have been made at Croft block plant, in Leicestershire, and the company’s Torr and Callow block plants, both in Somerset.

At Croft, Masterblock’s largest factory, an ‘egg-laying’ operation has been added to create greater capacity to service the Midlands region, whilst at Torr, the manufacturing area has been extended and two new machines purchased.

At Callow, a state-of-the-art ‘Columbia’ static block plant has been installed. Imported from the US, this machine is said to offer the most modern method of block making in the world and allows the team to produce high-quality aggregate blocks in a variety of strengths and finishes.

Jeremy Lee, sales director for Building Products at Aggregate Industries, said: ‘There is currently great demand for blocks in the industry, which provides us with a real growth opportunity.

‘We’ve readjusted our strategy to make block products a key focus for the Building Products division and this investment into improving our current operation will help us to fulfil our orders with greater efficiency – benefiting both us and the client.’