Month: January 2021

By Scott Denham, Sales Director, IG Masonry Support

Here at IG Masonry Support we are committed to innovating the very best products and systems for current and future customers. In order for us to continue delivering the best time after time, it became apparent that we needed to expand our existing production facility to take on another site solely for brick fabrication. Minutes from IG Masonry Support’s Swadlincote headquarters, this six-acre site houses three production units. An exciting time for IG, what does this new addition to our site portfolio mean for our customers?

Why did we decide to expand?

Look at any successful company and what will become immediately apparent is that the rate of a business’s growth is made evident by the development of new manufacturing sites.

One of the principal reasons why we chose to expand at this time was that we saw our current product range excel in the marketplace. We were also very close to capacity, and these demands meant we desperately needed to avoid increasing the lead time of our product. Now, with a new facility we will be able to deliver the goods to our loyal customers – and, of course, attract new ones in the process!

The Swadlincote manufacturing site was previously split between steelwork fabrication and brick, but due to customer demand for our products, we needed to increase both our steel fabrication capacity and create an entire factory dedicated to our brick slip products and services. This addition will enable us to offer a standalone brick cutting service for our customers, as well as manufacturing them for our brick slip products. Previously, customers may have sourced brick cutting services from other suppliers, but by broadening our production capability, we can offer a number of products and services under one roof. Furthermore, as we are a business built on quality, our new facility is ISO 9001 compliant so we are able to offer the quality checks that other smaller companies cannot.

The new production facility includes a unit dedicated to cutting, complete with an automated cutting machine. This is a product assembly unit where bonding and mechanical fixing of brick slips to our product are completed. A third unit is also primarily used for quality checking and logistic preparation prior to dispatch. This has enabled us to free up space at our steel fabrication facility in Swadlincote, providing the area to double the number of welding bays to twenty, meeting customer demand.

What will it enable?

It goes without saying that the expansion will have a positive impact on our staffing levels, with a predicted 6% increase this year. The opening of the facility will mean we can provide our customers with greater scope in terms of bigger and more complex jobs. Another ambition will be to offer product training on the new site, whether it’s for customers, business partners, staff training, or invited college students and apprentices. We are keen to support the next generation of professionals within the construction industry.

Although the expansion comes at the most challenging time for the UK economy, IG has been able to complete the process as seamlessly as possible. Throughout the pandemic we may have changed our working practices, but as a business we didn’t stop at all. We are fortunate to have emerged from this crisis in remarkably good shape. We have been working either remotely or in a COVID-safe environment for quite a number of months now to meet demand, and this expansion will further help this situation. It will increase our production facility space, enabling a wider range of shift patterns whilst ensuring people are safe at all times within the production environment.

As a company we refuse to stand still. Investment in specialist plant and equipment will mean we can meet the challenges that lie ahead. In turn, for our customers it will enable us to continually meet their needs and provide the level of service we are renowned for.

By Andy Neal, Managing Director, IG Masonry Support

Sustainability is at the forefront of the minds of many construction businesses, most notably because of the key role it plays in tackling the worldwide climate change crisis. As the UK aims for net zero carbon emissions by 2050, companies across the nation will have to take matters into their own hands to make each and every corner of their business more sustainable. This is a sizeable change which cannot happen overnight – instead it needs to be broken down into achievable, smaller increments. With this in mind, which considerations can manufacturers and suppliers make to attain net zero goals?

In order for the construction industry to be more sustainable and reach the net zero carbon target by 2050, everyone in the supply chain has to take action. Creating energy efficient buildings will only prove truly successful if they feature products that have low environmental impact from their production, through to their use and disposal at end of life. Every business should be starting to push towards net zero carbon emissions if they haven’t already, and it is the responsibility of all construction companies to make the changes that are needed.

For us here at IG Masonry Support – and as a leader that many others look up to – we had to ensure we were taking the right course of action for our business to achieve this goal. As a team we are passionately committed to becoming as carbon conscious as possible, and believe this neutrality shouldn’t stop at product innovation. It should be a fundamental cornerstone of a company’s entire culture.

We realise that achieving net zero carbon is no easy feat; remember this is a marathon, not a sprint. For this reason, we decided to take the initial step by looking at how we could introduce a product that was carbon neutral. This has planted the seed of our net zero aim, enabling us to learn from this process and look at how we can implement business-wide.

The launch of IG’s new B.O.S.S. A1 product is the first step in our net zero carbon journey. It is kickstarting our desire to be a carbon neutral organisation by 2021. It will create a legacy for itself as our original carbon neutral product – you better be assured it definitely won’t be our last! The product is an evolution of our market leading brick on soffit system that is lauded by so many. We are proud to say this BBA certified product is A1 fire rated; it has been given the non-combustible seal of approval, meaning this product can be specified on buildings of any height. The product boasts all the excellent qualities of the fellow B.O.S.S. ranges: lightweight, easy-to-install, less labour-intensive.

To make it a carbon neutral product, we have offset carbon emissions through certified carbon offset projects. We realise that offsetting itself is not going to solve the problem, which is why we are committed to ensuring the volume we offset reduces each year. We all have to start somewhere, and taking smaller steps at the beginning will enable us to make the greater leaps that are needed.

 At IG we sought an independent body to offer advice on how to be net zero completely, and have made it our mission to go beyond offsetting the costs. Not only have we changed from diesel to electric forklift trucks, we’ve purchased new fibre laser machines that are more efficient, and all delivery vehicles produce as low emissions as possible. We’re just getting started!

In the five years IG Masonry Support has been around, we have grown considerably. What we want to do now is to continue that development, bringing innovative products to the marketplace in the most sustainable, carbon neutral way. It is the route we can take to suppress climate change, and we encourage friends from across the sector to do their bit and follow the same path.