John Brash unveils second stage of £1m infrastructure investment

The UK manufacturer of graded timber roofing battens, shingles and shakes, scaffold boards, and commercial anti-slip decking has unveiled improvements to its premises in a £200,000 joint venture with its haulage partner, JME Transport.

The Manchester-based haulier has part-funded work to create 60% more space for the heavy goods vehicles loading up its products for delivery around the UK.

The chairman of John Brash & Co. Ltd, Christian Brash, said that the official opening of the new improvements not only demonstrated the company’s commitment to growth, but also the investment underpinned in three key areas.

He commented: “It is a proud day for everyone at John Brash & Co. Ltd and JME Transport, as it is another symbol of our aspirations for growth and the commitment our business is making to ensure that we continue to be the market leader in graded timber roofing battens, shingles and shakes, scaffold boards, and commercial anti-slip decking.

“The single biggest benefit is that we have created more capacity in our yard through the use of more reclaimed land, as well as the more efficient configuration and better use of storage to make sure we get more lorries in and out faster.”

The investment in the yard follows the unveiling in March of Goldeneye, the only dedicated roofing batten scanning line in Europe.

The introduction of the new machine – at a total cost of nearly £750,000 – has enabled John Brash & Co. Ltd to treble its production.

Brash added: “The huge sums we have invested this year have all been focused around improving our capability not to meet, but to exceed the new British Standard BS5534:2014 for roofing products, as well as improving our premises so that we can increase our capacity to manufacture the very best products in the marketplace.”