Hartlepool-based expanded metal mesh pioneer The Expanded Metal Company has announced major investment of up to £1m over 2018. That will include the upgrading of buildings on the company’s 25,000 sqm site in Hartlepool, refurbishing specialist manufacturing equipment, acquiring new machinery and replacing lighting with more energy-efficient LED systems. The work is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The Expanded Metal Company – which this month won the Manufacturer Of The Year award in the Hartlepool Business Awards – has a heritage dating back to 1889 and was founded by John French Golding, the inventor and patentee of expanded metal.
The company has its own security range, ExMesh, which offers fencing and security products to protect people and property. The firm also supplies expanded metal mesh products for sectors including construction, filtration, engineering, transport, utilities, automotive, aerospace and architecture.
The investment will help to reduce its carbon footprint by improving insulation at the site. 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. It is one of only a handful of such machines. It produces expanded metal mesh for fencing, walkways and ramps, as well as specialist hard materials.
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. In the last two years the manufacturer has introduced a number of new products: such as gates rated to Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB) Loss Prevention Standard (LPS) 1175 Security Rating (SR) 2 and 3, which have been designed to protect critical infrastructure and government buildings. For use in the construction industry are brick reinforcement mesh, expanded metal laths, vent meshes and bolt boxes. The firm has developed Square Mesh, a lightweight demarcation fencing.
The company recently recruited a number of apprentices.
The company’s expanded metal mesh products were recently used to create interior design features in the V&A Museum of Design Dundee, due to open in September.
Philip Astley, pictured, managing director at The Expanded Metal Company 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 a world-leading expanded metal mesh manufacturer, make our operations more energy efficient and further strengthen our manufacturing capabilities. We also feel that it’s highly important to constantly improve the working environment for our staff and the new investment will support us in doing this. We’re looking forward to seeing the fruits of this work as we move forward through 2018.”
The company was the first UK fencing manufacturer to be awarded ‘Secured by Design’ status. The firm stocks and supplies a range of expanded metal mesh products and offers specialist capabilities in metal work, such as cutting, welding, drilling, punching, shearing and roll forming. Visit www. www.expandedmetalcompany.co.uk and www.exmeshsecurity.co.uk.
