New extrusion lines at Freefoam increase efficiencies and create jobs
Freefoam Building Products has announced the arrival of two additional new extrusion lines to its production plant in Northampton. Supplied by Austrian company Greiner Extrusion, the new lines will increase production capacity by 12.5%. With continued expansion, a growing customer base and increased turnover this significant investment further underpins Freefoam’s commitment to remain at the forefront of PVC extrusion capability in the UK.
“We’ve been planning this addition to our facility for many months and I’m very pleased to see our plans come to fruition. These new lines will increase capacity of our production of PVC fascia, soffit and gutter products and allow us to operate more efficiently,” explained Geoff Barnett, General Manager
“We have a long and successful relationship with Greiner and by choosing these new lines to work alongside our existing extruders we can make significant efficiencies. We follow and embrace lean principles of manufacture and this standardisation across the production plant allows complete interchangeability between lines. It maximises the benefits of transferable skills, tooling and spares in order to keep lines continually running and minimise down time.”
The new lines will also bring new jobs. Operating a 24/7 production facility means an extra five team members will be joining Freefoam, making a total of 154 now employed in Northampton.
Freefoam are committed to continuous improvement and maximising efficiencies and these two new lines form part of these developments. Alongside a wide range of other infrastructure projects around the manufacturing and mixing plant site in Northampton these changes will ensure Freefoam production facilities are fit for purpose now, and into the future.
“We have ambitious growth plans over the next two -three years” commented Colin St John, Commercial Director, “and we need to ensure we have the infrastructure in place to meet these ambitions and the demands of our customers. This investment will allow us to plan ahead and maximise production capacity to future-proof our business. I’m particularly pleased to be bringing new jobs to Northampton. We run our entire UK production, distribution and sales operation from this site and we bring a whole range of professional, administrative, skilled and semi-skilled roles to the local economy.”
